An estimated 5.8 million people in Sudan – around 15% of the total population – require schistosomiasis treatment.The World Health Organization (WHO) together with the Federal Ministry of Health, Government of Gezira State, and Merck launched a campaign to fight schistosomiasis in Sudan on 27 August 2013.
WHO received a donation from Merck of six million praziquantel tablets for large-scale treatment of schistosomiasis in the country. The total value of the medicines is around 2.4 million Sudanese pounds (more than € 400 000).
The Under Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Isam M. Abd Allah, welcomed the donation, emphasizing that “After malaria, schistosomiasis is considered the most prevalent tropical disease in Africa. This worm disease is also widespread among children in Sudan.”
Schistosomiasis is transmitted in all of Sudan’s 18 states. An estimated 5.8 million people in the country – around 15% of the total population – require treatment; the majority of those infected are children.
WHO Representative in Sudan Dr Anshu Banerjee said, “The World Health Organization has set itself the goal of controlling or eliminating neglected tropical diseases, among them schistosomiasis, by 2020 in order to improve and save the lives of hundreds of millions of people around the world. Therefore, we welcome every sustainable initiative that supports our efforts in the fight against tropical diseases.”
Depending on their height, the children receive between one and five tablets. The distribution of the medicine in Sudan was officially launched in the El Mussallamia School in Gezira state, with the presence of the Governor of Gezira State Professor Elzubair Bashir, officials from the Ministry of Health and the German Embassy, as well as representatives from Merck and WHO.
Mass treatment will also be administered in many schools in the states of Khartoum, Gedarif, Kassala, and North Kordofan. Depending on their height, the children receive between one and five tablets. In order to effectively fight the disease, treatment must be repeated several times in yearly intervals.