Title: The challenge of establishing community-directed treatment with Mectizan in Uganda.

POPLINE Document Number: 139988

Author(s):

Okwero P

Source citation:

ANNALS OF TROPICAL MEDICINE AND PARASITOLOGY, 1998 Apr;92 Suppl 1:S171-4.

Abstract:

Onchocerciasis is a major public health problem in Uganda, affecting 17 of the country's 39 districts. 1995 data indicate that of the 19 million Ugandans, 1.8 million were at risk of infection and 1.36 million were already infected. 1.3 million Ugandans in 2255 villages are currently being targeted for annual treatment with Mectizan (ivermectin, MSD). 74% of the targeted villages are hyperendemic and 18% are meso-endemic for the disease. The control of onchocerciasis in Uganda through the mass distribution of Mectizan began in the early 1990s, as a result of collaboration between the Ministry of Health and 4 nongovernmental development organizations. With the aim of eliminating onchocerciasis as a public health problem in Uganda, the national program now reaches all communities known to be affected by the disease in all but 1 district, and achieved a mean treatment coverage of 75% in 1995 and 1996. However, with results of a 1996 World Health Organization study suggesting that community-directed treatment should be the main method of onchocerciasis control in Africa, Uganda's national onchocerciasis task force must now reorient its current program from community-based to community-directed treatment. This latter approach gives communities a greater role in distributing Mectizan.

Keywords:

Uganda
Onchocerciasis
Drugs
Treatment
Decentralization
WHO
Community Participation
Community-Based Distribution
Prevention and Control
Developing Countries
Africa, Eastern
Africa, Sub Saharan
Africa
Parasitic Diseases
Diseases
UN
International Agencies
Organizations
Organization and Administration
Nonclinical Distribution
Distributional Activities
Program Activities
Programs