NTD partners met in Côte d'Ivoire, to support National NTD Programme Coordinators in their aim for greater integration of activities.

The meeting, held in Yamoussoukro between 30-31 March, aimed to identify opportunities for greater coordination of NTD partner support, to achieve the objectives of the national team.

NTD partners included representatives from the Côte d’Ivoire Ministry of Health and National NTD Programmes, as well as International partners including: END Fund, FHI 360, Helen Keller International, MAP International, Sightsavers, SCI, USAID, the World Food Programme, and the World Health Organization. 

Results of activities from 2016 for the NTD programmes were presented, followed by a presentation on sustainability by the National Coordinator, Dr Aboulaye Meite. This opened a great discussion on how an integrated national programme could potentially be implemented.

NTD programmes often have the same target populations and partners discussed opportunities to optimise platforms for drug delivery and training, to maximise use of resources and increase programme reach.

The National Coordinator, Dr Aboulye Meite, says: “The participation of all partners, SCI included, gave us the opportunity to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the collaboration between the NTD programme and partners, and highlighted the need for greater coordination of activities. Moreover, the sustainability of the NTD programme remains the greatest challenge, but I believe that these diseases will be history for Côte d’Ivoire by 2020.”

“Moving towards integration of NTD programmes, will hopefully make them more sustainable and achieve the goal of control and elimination of these diseases,” says Nadia Ben Meriem, SCI Programme Manager for Côte d’Ivoire.

A calendar of upcoming NTD programme activities will be discussed to identify where they can be integrated and how, with an aim of implementing them in 2017.