News

Benin, like other countries supported by USAID’s Act to End NTDs | West project, relies on drugs that are imported into the country and are subject to customs and clearance upon arrival in the country. What makes Benin’s experience unique is the process used to expedite the drug clearance.

Kebie Koroma is a 14-year-old from the north of Sierra Leone. At the age of two, his parents noticed something unusual on his left foot. Despite their desperate attempts with local healers, Kebie's condition deteriorated daily. Unbeknownst to them, he was suffering from lymphatic filariasis, a debilitating mosquito-borne parasitic disease endemic to Sierra Leone.

In Cameroon’s Sangmelima district, MDA has been stopped but Act | West remains vigilant to ensure the disease does not return by using a series of surveys. These images capture the third and final survey that is conducted to ensure that lymphatic filariasis infections have not returned and the population is no longer at risk.

Most of the 11 West African countries within USAID’s Act to End NTDs | West program celebrated the 5th World NTD Day on January 30, 2024.

In recognition of World NTD Day on January 30, 2024, the Act | West program highlights progress and accomplishments made to date since the beginning of the program.

On November 7-8, 2023, Act | West held a Partners’ Meeting in Dakar, Senegal to recognize the successes and lessons learned from the past five years of USAID’s Act to End NTDs | West program and to establish the path forward for the next three years..

In an important step for progress toward lymphatic filariasis elimination among the countries under the Act | West consortium, Senegal’s neglected tropical disease program has advanced to the phase of conducting Transmission Assessment Surveys against lymphatic filariasis...

Xavière Sokpon, âgée de 39 ans, travaille tant que technicienne de laboratoire au Benin. Elle fait partie de ces amazones des temps modernes qui accompagnent le personnel médical à répondre efficacement aux demandes de soins des patients en détresse.

39-year-old Xavière Sokpon works as a laboratory technician in Benin. A modern-day wonder woman who never shrinks from her role, Sokpon accompanies medical staff as they respond to care requests from patients in distress.

Sierra Leone’s National Neglected Tropical Diseases Program (NNTDP) politically validated and launched their neglected tropical disease (NTD) Sustainability Plan