WHO report on schistosomiasis treatment in 2018

In 2018 95.3 million people (76.2 million SAC and 19.1 million adults) received Preventative Chemotherapy (meaning preventative treatment) for schistosomiasis. 

Interesting info highlighted by the report include:

• 20 of the 34 countries that implemented Preventative Chemoterapy (PC) for schistosomiasis achieved the WHO goal of ≥ 75% national treatment coverage for School Aged Children (SAC).
• 88.1% (1424/1617) of implementation units achieved effective treatment coverage for ≥75% for SAC.
• The total treatment coverage was 41.6%. The treatment coverage of SAC was 61.2% .
• Treatments in the African Region represented 87.6% of all those delivered globally, with the highest treatment numbers recorded in Nigeria (11.4 million), followed by Burkina Faso (9.9 million), Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) (7.8 million), Malawi (7.2 million), United Republic of Tanzania (6.5 million) and Ethiopia (6.4 million). Madagascar, Egypt and Zimbabwe did not conduct Mass Drug Administration (delivery of preventative treatment) for schistosomiasis in 2018.
• Fewer countries submitted reports on schistosomiasis treatments in 2018 compared to 2017 (34 in 2018 v.s. 40 in 2017), and reports are awaited from large contributors to global treatment, such as Ghana (10.5 million people requiring PC) and Kenya (2.8 million).
• Working with STH in 2018, 38.2 million SAC in co-endemic areas were treated for both STH and schistosomiasis.

Read the relevant Weekly Epidemiological Report here.