NTD Control in Burundi: Partnerships, Achievements, Challenges & Lessons Learned

A critical overview, after four years, of the treatment programme for SCH and STH delivered by the MoH with the assistance of the SCI.

Between 1973 and 1992 the distribution of praziquantel (PZQ) in health centres and mebendazole (MBZ) in schools was already happening in areas considered highly endemic in Burundi. Historical epidemiological data on soil-transmitted helminths (STH) and a survey performed in 2005 suggested that both Schistosoma mansoni (SCH) and STH infections were widespread, with SCH prevalence varying across provinces (range 0–61%, mean 22%) and the overall prevalence of STHs reaching 59.7%.

With the beginning of the civil war in 1993, national prevention and control activities slowed down considerably. Despite the continued political instability, the Ministry of Health (MoH), with UNICEF and the WHO, introduced an annual Mother and Child Health Week (MCHW) in 2003, during which vaccinations, micronutrients, bed nets, and deworming drugs were distributed.

Sparse historical epidemiologic data and the presence of a few early-stage government health initiatives created an excellent opportunity to roll out an NTD control programme in Burundi. With the specific objectives of: defining the population at risk for each infection; elaborating and implementing a drug treatment strategy targeting the population at risk; and creating a solid framework for a sustainable NTD control programme integrated with the health initiatives already in place that would continue after the end of the donor-funded programme.

The recently published paper, 'Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases in Burundi: Partnerships, Achievements, Challenges, and Lessons Learned after Four Years of Programme Implementation', provides a critical overview, after four years, of the treatment programme for SCH and STH delivered by the MoH with the assistance of the SCI. The programme started in June 2007. Strategies, achievements, challenges, lessons learned, and future steps for the country, especially in relation to schistosomiasis and STHs, are discussed.

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