The Global Network believes that development efforts succeed through the empowerment of local stakeholders and the organization of sustainable health infrastructure. The impact of sustainability is critical in the ongoing fight against neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).
Global Network collaborators and public-private partnerships devoted to NTD control work with local governments, schools, healthcare systems and organizations to deliver medications to those suffering from NTDs. Some of the most effective delivery solutions come through community-led efforts.
One particularly successful community-led program is the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC). APOC was established in 1995 to eliminate onchocerciasis in sub-Saharan Africa by distributing the drug ivermectin (donated by the pharmaceutical company Merck) through a network of community drug distributors. Pioneered by Dr. Uche Amazigo, the community-directed treatment with ivermectin (CDTI) strategy empowers members of affected communities to become an integral part of their local healthcare system through training, treatment distribution, education, and monitoring and evaluation efforts.
Community-driven Successes at a Glance
- Over 600,165 community drug distributors have been trained and engaged in CDTI projects since APOC’s inception, and they have delivered nearly 965,000,000 ivermectin tablets distributed in 11 years (1997-2007)
- CDTI has been so successful in combating onchocerciasis that its mandate has expanded to combat a number of other global health challenges including malaria, vitamin A deficiency, and poor immunization coverage
- A recent WHO/TDR study completed among 2.35 million people in three countries found that the uptake of individual interventions was improved when they were delivered as a package through community drug distributors:
- Home-based malaria-care coverage doubled
- Bed-net usage was doubled
- Vitamin A usage increased to 90%--significantly higher than in the districts not using the community-directed method
- School-based deworming in Kenya was shown to reduce absenteeism by 25%--the most cost-effective means of keeping children in school
