Sierra Leone has stopped mass drug administration (MDA) for lymphatic filariasis in 94% of endemic districts in the country following the likely interruption of transmission in 15 out of 16 districts as of FY22 (October 2021 – September 2022). Prevalence of infection has been reduced significantly in the remaining district due to ongoing MDA.
Following a deep-dive supported by the Act | West program, the NTDP has made the decision in September 2023 to strengthen MDA by augmenting the number of CDDs and providing other measures to improve drug delivery and the monitoring of onchocerciasis interventions especially in semi-urban settings.
There are nine schistosomiasis/soil-transmitted helminthiasis (SCH/STH)-endemic districts in Sierra Leone. The first impact assessment was conducted in Sierra Leone in 2015 and in 2022, following up to ten rounds of high coverage MDA, a second SCH/STH impact assessment was conducted in all 9 districts. During a data review meeting in February 2023 the data was reviewed from this survey and a two phase strategy was developed for 2024 (1) to go back to certain sub-districts to collect additional data to determine the correct treatment class (2) evaluation in some sub-districts with high prevalence to see whether the treatment coverage threshold has been met. By the end of 2024, Sierra Leone will have re-evaluated all endemic districts in the country and will update the treatment strategy.
Standard Disease-Specific Indicators as of FY21
FY21 is October 2020 through September 2021