Publication: A Call to Support Francophone African Countries to End the Tremendous Suffering from NTDs
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2018-12
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2019-02-01
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Eighteen neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and malaria account together for 22 percent of the total burden of communicable diseases in 25 Francophone African countries (FPACs). The cumulative impact of NTDs decreases the quality of life of households, slows economic growth, and results in millions of dollars in lost economic productivity annually. Of the 18 NTDs, 5 can be controlled by preventive chemotherapy (PC) through safe mass drug administration (MDA). In 2017, the WB launched the deworming Africa initiative (DAI), with the purpose of raising the profile of NTDs control and elimination efforts among endemic Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries to eliminate NTDs as a public health threat. DAI’s strategy seeks to reduce the burden of NTDs in 3 key population groups that mostly impact on human capital: young children (12 to 23 months), pregnant women, and school-age children (SAC) (5 to 14 years of age). To achieve this objective in a sustainable way, DAI supports country efforts to strengthen the coordinated engagement of the health, education, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and economic sectors with a national prevention and control strategy. Multisectoral collaboration between Ministries of economy, health, education, and WASH is a promising approach to maximize national resources towards the long-term sanitary and financial objectives of reducing NTDs in SSA.
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“Sorgho, Gaston; Lavadenz, Fernando; Tshivuila Matala, Opope Oyaka. 2018. A Call to Support Francophone African Countries to End the Tremendous Suffering from NTDs. Health, Nutrition and Population Knowledge Brief;. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/31195 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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