Updated survey maps for soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) and schistosome infection in Kenya and Nigeria are newly available. You can also now download the underlying mapping data and publications for both countries.
We are happy to announce that updated survey maps for soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) and schistosome infection in Kenya and Nigeria are newly available on the GAHI website. You can also now download the underlying mapping data and publications for both countries.
The case of Kenya
In 2011, Kenya was the first African country to launch a strategic plan targeting the NTDs STHs, schistosomiasis and lymphatic filariasis (LF) through preventive chemotherapy (PCT) as well as leishmaniasis through case management. For STH and schistosomiasis, a national school-based deworming programme was initiated in 2009 with the financial support of the Ministry of Education and technical support and drugs provided by the Partnership for Child Development (PCD) and Deworm the World (DtW). In 2011, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) committed to provide five years of funding to the national programme, which enabled the expansion of deworming activities in 2012 to treat five million schoolchildren annually.
In order to evaluate the health impact of the national programme, researchers at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) are undertaking an extensive monitoring and evaluation programme that included baseline mapping in 2012.
This week (18th and 22nd February 2013), the Kenya Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation is hosting a national workshop on mapping of PCT-NTDs, supported by WHO-AFRO. The purpose of this workshop is to identify the remaining mapping gaps and develop a plan and budget to finalise mapping in Kenya. The updated maps provide a useful resource for these discussions.
The case of Nigeria
The release of the data is also timely as Nigeria just launched an integrated multi-year national plan for the control and elimination of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), which includes a massive scale-up of disease control activities. Nigeria is the most populated nation in the African continent and has the highest number of infected people among all African countries. The country ranks first in Africa for six NTDs: ascariasis, hookworm, trichuriasis, schistosomiasis, lymphatic filariasis, and onchocerciasis.
The burden of trachoma has not been fully determined; however, about 18 million people are estimated to live at risk and national trachoma mapping is planned to identify areas requiring mass treatment.
An estimated 28 million school-aged children in Nigeria are at risk for infection with STH and 21 million are at risk for schistosomiasis. The Government of Nigeria is committed to implementing a national school-based deworming programme in order to reduce the burden of STH and schistosomiasis. To ensure that this programme is targeted to the areas of highest burden there is a need for information on the prevalence and geographical distribution of STH and schistosomiasis, yet precise data are currently lacking.
To address this gap, plans are underway to conduct mapping in the remaining unmapped 14 states, to be funded jointly by CIFF and the Federal Ministry of Health and completed by 2015.
As a result of these large scale programmes, Kenya and Nigeria will need to develop capacities to collect the survey data and to process the newly generated information. To provide support during this process, GAHI is collaborating with local government and research partners as well as the Liverpool Centre for NTDs to organise mapping trainings in Kenya and Nigeria in 2013.
The GAHI team would like to take this opportunity to thank all researchers who contributed their survey results to the Kenya and Nigeria datasets.
Birgit Nikolay and the GAHI team