Resources

WHO manual on implementing preventative chemotherapy against neglected tropical diseases provides generic tools for those involved in planning preventative chemotherapy administration. The publication was released in September 2022.

New WHO standard operating procedures--released on July 25, 2022--describes the standard operating procedures for health products for NTDs amenable to preventive chemotherapy and the medicines donated to treat them.

Trachoma baseline surveys, trachoma impact surveys, trachoma surveillance surveys, and trichiasis-only surveys are key disease-specific assessments of trachoma elimination programs, used to start mass drug administration (MDA), monitor progress, decide when to stop MDA, and inform attainment of elimination of trachoma as a public health problem.

West African neglected tropical diseases (NTD) programs have made great progress toward the elimination/control of NTDs amenable to preventive chemotherapy. However, some districts have failed impact surveys—notably for lymphatic filariasis and trachoma—due to implementation inadequacies, despite reporting good mass treatment coverage. A quality improvement framework has been initiated to strengthen country program interventions and address issues that hinder their ability to achieve the World Health Organization NTD road map elimination/control goals.  The workshop aims to present an innovative model for improving implementation and discuss ideas, strategies, and plans for initiating quality improvement (QI) activities. Experiences from Ghana and Sierra Leone in the design and implementation of the QI model will be shared.