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A group of children being screened at a school in Anka LGA, Zamfara State

A group of children being screened at a school in Anka LGA, Zamfara State

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An effective approach

Marthe Damina, project officer for Sightsavers in Nigeria, explains how working with local volunteers is enabling us to lead the way in the prevention of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).

"For the past year I've been working on a groundbreaking pilot programme in Zamfara State, northern Nigeria, that has a population of over three million.

Groundbreaking for us - as it's the first time Sightsavers has invested in treating NTDs outside of blinding onchocerciasis (river blindness) and trachoma, which we've been supporting the control of in the area since 1996 and 2003 respectively.

Groundbreaking for Zamfara - because it's the first time that state-wide NTD prevalence mapping has taken place in Nigeria.

The mapping we carried out gave us an idea of the spread of the different NTDs which would enable us to measure success of the treatment. It showed the prevalence of schistosomiasis (schisto), three soil transmitted helminths (STH) and lymphatic filariasis (LF). (See below for more information about each of these diseases.)

With support from Sightsavers, the State then set about administering the drugs for these diseases, plus river blindness and trachoma, using community-directed interventions and school-based treatments.

The cost to deliver drugs to the extra five NTDs is minimal, given the strength of the partnerships between the State and Sightsavers, the donated drugs and the delivery ‘vehicle' that the community-based volunteers offer.

Although analysis is still underway, initial results indicate that the pilot was a success.

Key to its success was the involvement of community members, volunteers, health workers and teachers in helping to plan and distribute the treatments. Our collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health, Department of Biological Science Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and Zamfara State partners was also important.

Building on our experience in Nigeria, Sightsavers is now developing pilot programmes to combine NTD work with malaria prevention. This is an incredible step forward for a development organisation which until recently focused primarily on eye health and visual impairment."

"This is an impressive Sightsavers programme operating in difficult circumstances," said John Gibb of the Department for International Development (DFID). "There is clear state-level ownership but Zamfara could not achieve or sustain what it does without Sightsavers' support"