GHS targets 5.8m people for drug administration against river blindness

About 5.8 million people across the country have been targeted by the Ghana Health Service (GHS) for this year’s mass drug administration against Onchocerciasis, commonly called River blindness.

An additional 440,000 people are also being targeted to receive medication against Lymphatic filariasis, also known as elephantiasis. The integrated exercise is scheduled to take place from Monday, July 15 to Friday, July 26, 2024.

At the launch of the 2024 integrated Mass Drug Administration exercise in Accra yesterday, the Director-General of the GHS, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, appealed to all eligible persons to avail themselves as the drugs had been proven to be safe and effective.

He said all persons who were five years and above and were not pregnant were eligible. Dr Kuma-Aboagye said the exercise, which was done annually, formed part of national interventions to eradicate the two neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) of public health concern by 2030.

“These are NTDs that can be prevented and treated. These diseases disfigure and disable, keeping children out of school and parents out of work. “They are commonly found in poor communities, and promote poverty and intense stigma,” he said.

He said the launch was particularly to raise awareness of the two NTDs as well as the exercise. It is also a means of assuring the target group that the medications were tried, tested, very safe and effective. 

MDA

Dr Kuma-Aboagye said MDA was the provision of  a therapeutic dose of an effective NTD medicine to the entire target population, irrespective of infection status or symptom. He said it was a strategy for combatting the diseases and was currently recommended by the WHO as a key strategy to interrupt transmission.

He said by treating communities with safe and effective medicine, additional infections could be prevented among healthy individuals. “Although the interventions focused mainly on vector control, several other approaches, including mobile community treatment and later community-directed treatment with Ivermectin (CDTI), became the main control strategy in the country,” he said.

River blindness

He said while a lot of progress had been made in the control of river blindness, there was still an enormous task ahead to achieve elimination by 2030.

“The main strategy for control and elimination of river blindness is the interruption of transmission through the annual MDA using community directed treatment with ivermectin. 

Dr Kuma-Aboagye, throwing more light on Onchocerciasis said it was one of the Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) caused by a parasitic worm called Onchocerca volvulus.

He said it was spread through repeated bites of an infected blackfly known scientifically as Simulium.

Lymphatic filariasis, elephantiasis.

Dr Kuma-Aboagye said Lymphatic filariasis, also known as elephantiasis, occurred when the filarial parasite was transmitted to humans through an infected mosquito bite.

“The main strategy for control and elimination includes stopping the spread of the infection through large scale annual treatment of eligible people in an area or region where infection is present.

Writer’s email: doreen.andoh@graphic.com.gh