Abstract
The fight against onchocerciasis (river blindness), one of the most devastating neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), has mobilized significant resources and brought together diverse public and private stakeholders. The onchocerciasis control program (OCP) in West Africa, launched in 1974, initially focused its activities on vector control in 11 West African countries and invested United States (U.S.) 556 million dollars over 28 years. Building upon OCP, the African program for onchocerciasis control (APOC) was launched in 1995 to extend the gains in river blindness control achieved in West Africa to the 19 remaining endemic countries, mainly located in central and eastern Africa. APOC adopted the community-directed treatment with ivermectin (CDTi) approach as its core strategy. This series of articles will highlight the different aspects of the fight, focusing on the history and governance of APOC, the management of the CDTi donation, the technical foundations of the work of APOC, the country programs and perspectives, non-governmental development organizations (NGDOs) action, mechanisms for financial sustainability, and the future of regional NTD elimination efforts.
Highlights
1 World Health Organization/African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (WHO/APOC), Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, 2 World Bank, Washington, D.C., United States of America
Building upon Onchocerciasis Control Programme in West Africa (OCP), the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC) was launched in 1995 to extend the gains in river blindness control achieved in West Africa to the 19 remaining endemic countries, mainly located in central and eastern Africa
The health workers who are trained by experts from APOC and in-country consultants ensure training of community-directed ivermectin distributors (CDDs) and their supervision; they help with management of ivermectin supply and take charge of responding to severe
Summary
1 World Health Organization/African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (WHO/APOC), Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, 2 World Bank, Washington, D.C., United States of America The fight against onchocerciasis (river blindness), one of the most devastating neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), has mobilized significant resources and brought together diverse public and private stakeholders.
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