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CEP-NTD 1 Project Launch, END in Africa Project Closes
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: USAID, FHI 360 Launch New Program to Control, End Neglected Tropical Diseases in West Africa Five-Year Control and Elimination Program for Neglected Tropical Diseases Element One Project Seeks to End Elephantiasis & Trachoma, Manage River Blindness, Schistosomiasis, Helminthiasis, in Partnership with 11 Countries Accra, Ghana – November 14, 2018. Eleven host country governments,
NTDs in Niger: Current Epidemiological Status of Neglected Tropical Diseases Targeted through Preventive Chemotherapy
When Niger, a West African country of 22 million people, began receiving USAID support through the FHI 360-managed END in Africa project to control or eliminate the seven neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) targeted through preventive chemotherapy (PC NTDs) in October 2010, there was much work to be done, as some diseases had become nationwide
Ghana Eliminates Blinding Trachoma, a First for West Africa
ACCRA, GHANA—The Government of Ghana has eliminated trachoma as a public health problem, according to a recent communication from by the World Health Organization (WHO), making Ghana the first West African country to achieve validation of trachoma elimination. Ghana’s success contributes to the current global momentum in the fight against NTDs. News Summary The Government of Ghana
Neglected Tropical Diseases Program Sustainability: Innovative Mechanisms for Private Sector Engagement
In the last 10 years, donors including the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have provided significant funding to combat neglected tropical diseases (NTD) in West Africa, resulting in a realistic goal of control and elimination by 2020. In an era of shrinking budgets for NTD surveillance and
NTDs in Burkina Faso: Current Epidemiological Status of Neglected Tropical Diseases Targeted through Preventive Chemotherapy
Located in West Africa, Burkina Faso is home to approximately 20 million people. In 2006, the country began receiving support from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) through the END in Africa project,[1] for the control and elimination of the seven neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) targeted through preventive chemotherapy (PC NTDs), which include onchocerciasis
It’s Time to Take Togo Off the WHO Trachoma List
Trachoma is an eye infection caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis. Although it is both treatable and preventable, trachoma remains a leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) has set a global goal to eliminate trachoma as a public health problem in all countries by 2020. But what does it mean
Cross-Border Collaboration: Key for Sustaining Gains Against NTDs
The excitement that surrounded the World Health Organization (WHO) announcement in 2017 that the Republic of Togo had become the first sub-Saharan African country to eliminate lymphatic filariasis (LF or elephantiasis) as a public health problem is slowly dying out as we contemplate the implications of this announcement. Ghana has also submitted its final dossier
The Sustainability Continuum for Neglected Tropical Diseases Programs
The Neglected Tropical Diseases Program (NTDP) Sustainability Continuum measures a national NTDP’s progress toward achieving long-term sustainability. Consisting of four stages that begin with ‘stand-alone NTDPs’ and advance toward full integration with the broader health system, the Sustainability Continuum seeks to help countries achieve their goals of NTD elimination and post-elimination care. The NTDPs in
Onchocerciasis Elimination Update and Committees in END in Africa Countries
Human onchocerciasis (oncho), or river blindness, is a disease caused by Onchocerca volvulus, a parasitic microscopic worm transmitted by black flies (called Simulium), that affects the skin and eye, and can end in irreversible blindness. The disease is known as ‘river blindness’ because the vector (black flies or Simulium) are insects that breed in fast-flowing
Supportive Supervision during Ghana’s 2017 Onchocerciasis Survey
In 2017, END in Africa Project Director Bolivar Pou visited Ghana with three goals in mind: (1) reviewing progress toward neglected tropical disease (NTD) control and elimination in Ghana with staff from the national NTD program and FHI 360 (FHI 360 is the implementing agency in Ghana for the END in Africa project); (2) identifying
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Photo Credit: Yaobi Zhang, Helen Keller International
