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The Angolan Ministry of Health, with technical support from WHO, carried out a data review and validation of five key Neglected Tropical Diseases. namely lymphatic filariasis (LF), onchocerciasis (Onco), schistosomiasis (SCH), geohelminthiasis or soil-borne helminths (HTS) and trachoma
The process will allow the country to identify the magnitude of neglected diseases, monitor ongoing prevention and control efforts, and determine the actions needed to achieve the control and elimination of NTDs in the country.
These diseases, which are endemic in Angola, cause significant health, socio-economic disruption considering the negative impacts on the health of populations, particularly on social life, productivity, underdevelopment in childhood, as well as on the perpetuation of the cycle of poverty.
"We congratulate Angola on this achievement and hope that the Ministry of Health will experiment and expand the database throughout the country to ensure the collection and processing of data at the national level and to ensure the prevention, treatment and elimination of NTDs,” said Dr Fernanda Alves, Acting WHO Representative to Angola
To ensure that the data are updated and reviewed, and to determine the areas eligible for preventive chemotherapy or mass treatment of anthelmintic drugs, technicians from the National Negligible Tropical Diseases (NTD) Control Programme, Over a period of 15 days, under the guidance of WHO experts, country’s integrated database on NTDs was reviewed to better display the distribution and prevalence of the diseases.
NTDs affect about 1.5 billion people worldwide, 39% of whom are in Africa where more than 600 million victims need treatment. NTDs primarily affect people in vulnerable areas, causing illness, suffering, disability and even death, with serious social, economic and psychological consequences.
WHO supports the Government in the implementation of strategies to combat NTDs, including preventive chemotherapy, intensified management of NTD cases, anti-vector and intermediate host control among others.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Health Organization (WHO).
