Report of the NGDO coordination group for onchocerciasis control including the support of the group to APOC's activities

African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC) Programme africain de lutte contre l'onchocercose JOINT ACTION FORUM Office of the Chairman JAF-FAC FORUM D'ACTION COMMUNE Bureau du Pr6sident JOINT ACTION FORUM Twelfth session JAF12.8 ORIGINAL: ENGLISH November 2006Dar-es-Salaam , 5-8 December 2006 Item 9 of the Provisional Agenda REPORT OF THE NGDO COORDINATION GROUP FOR ONCHOCERCIASIS CONTROL INCLUDING THE SUPPORT OF THE GROUP TO APOC'S ACTIVITIES THE NGIDO GOOUDINATION GBOUP FOR ONGHOCERCII$S GONTROL Report to the 12th Session of the Joint Action Forum Report for Year 2006 Group Members: Christoffel-Blindenmission (CBM) Helen Keller International (HKI) Interchurch Medical Assistance, Inc. (IMA) Light for the World (LW) Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF) Mecitzan@ Donation Program (MDP) Mission to Save the Helpless (MITOSATH) Organisation pour la Pr6vention de la C6cit6 (OPC) Sight Savers International (SSD The Carter Center (GRBP) United Front Against Riverblindness (UFAR) US Fund for UNICEF \ r r5 t- -"&&"* rfr i ,}i- I \ [' T ,J J r**r I ? h t I'j S* *i Ll{ilI &I, I ,] 1. INTRODUCTION Contrary to 2005, when two new members j oined the NGDO Coordination Group for Onchocerciasis Control, the NGDO Group membership remained the same with 12 members. However, Charitable Society for Social Welfare (CSSW) from Yemen applied in September 2006 to join the Group. It is hoped that CSSW will offrcially join the Group during the next NGDO Group meeting in March 2007. Likewise in 2005, members of the NGDO Group were involved in most of the 16 APOC countries where CDTI activities were being implemented except in Angola, Chad and Equatorial-Guinea. Nevertheless, one NGDO Group member, namely Christoffel-Blindenmission (CBM) agreed to support Huila CDTI project in Angola, from early next year. In addition, three members - Helen Keller International (HKI), Organisation pour la Pr6vention de la C6cit6 (OPC) and Sight Savers International (SSI) - continued to support ivermectin mass distribution in 2006 in almost all former-OCP countries and SIZ. SSI even extended its support to Benin and was requested to support CDTI activities in Guinea-Bissau from early next year. Finally, two NGDO Group members (CBM and Carter Center) assisted ivermectin distribution in six countries of Latin-America as in the past. This report, therefore, covers activities undertaken by these 12 NGDO Group members since the 1 lft session of the Joint Action Forum (JAFI1) in Paris, France. The key activities highlighted include: NGDO-supported Mectizan@ distribution in 2005 ; 27n and28th sessions of the NGDO Group meetings; Future challenges facing the Group. 2. NGDO GROUP ACTIVITIES 2.1. Ongoing NGDO-supported Mectizan@ distribution activities in 2005 In 2005 the Group supported a total of 53,256,773 ivermectin treatments as follows 39,832,844 in APOC countries, 12,568,727 in former-OCP countries, and 855,202 in OEPA countries. This represents an increase of more thanT million treatments in 2005 compared to the previous year.(Fig. 1) WHO/PBD Page 2 WHO/PBD Page 3 TIltil No. of treatments (million) 50 40 30 20 10 I OEPA I Ex-OGP trAPOC I TOTAL 0 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Years Fig. 1: NGDO Supported Treatment with Mectizan@ within the APOC, ex-OCP and OEPA Partnership Data for 2006 will be collected at the beginning of next year as treatment was still ongoing in some projects. WHO/PBD Page 4 Table 1: NGDO-Supported Mectizan@ Treatment within the APOC, ex-OCP & OEPA Partnership - 2005 REGION COUNTRY (UTG) Ultimate Treatment Goal (Aro) Annual Treatment Objectives Number of Treatments ln 2005 ATO Goverage (Yol UTG Coverage (%l APOC APOC APOC APOC APOC APOC APOC APOC APOC APOC APOC APOC APOC APOC APOC ocP ocP ocP ocP ocP ocP NIGERIA DRC CAMEROON ETHIOPIA SUDAN UGANDA MALAWI TANZANIA CHAD CAR LIBERIA GABON CONGO BURUNDI ANGOLA SENEGAL MALI GUINEA GHANA* BENIN TOGO SIERRA LEONE BURKINA- FASO COTE D'IVOIRE OEPA ocP ocP ocP OEPA TOTAL 23,143,277 1 9,1 59,1 56 3,938,207 3,612,679 3,973,497 1,415,745 1,445,753 1 ,591,819 1,349,990 1,182,935 1,635,603 505,893 589,140 805,530 175,409 1,786,181 3,649,929 723,085 2,688,000 2,798,112 1,628,291 908,852 NOI 2,074,843 96,814 80,878,740 484,611 908,852 23,340,157 9,124,114 3,657,892 3,612,679 1,547,495 1,415,745 1,445,753 1,365,966 1,349,990 1,182,935 1,262,089 I/ERMECTIN MA 505,893 156,946 100,000 175,409 1,786,181 3,649,929 723,085 2,300,000 2,798,112 1,500,000 96,814 64,490,647 379,291 855,202 20,848,986 4,953,959 3,613,842 3,164,007 768,111 1,355,700 1,299,755 1,252,793 1,065,249 537,388 352,584 JS DISTRIBUTIO} 406,031 164,794 49,645 169,386 1,699,098 3,468,694 648,125 1,978,000 2,790,347 1,337,326 98,460 53,256,773 89 54 99 88 27 96 90 92 79 45 28 80 105 50 97 95 95 90 86 100 89 102 78 94 83 90 26 92 88 19 96 90 79 79 45 22 80 28 6 97 95 95 90 74 100 64 102 23 94 66 * Figures for only Western Region Generally in 2005, CDTI activities were successfully implemented both in APOC and former-OcP countries except in conflict or post-conflict areas where the therapeutic coverage was below the 65Yo threshold. These include Angola, Burundi, CAR, C6te d'Ivoire, DRC, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Sudan. Although the OEPA countries performed well in 2005 with an average UTG coverage of at least 80 oh,there was still one focus in Venezuela with a very poor coverage of only 13 %. Finally, CSSW assisted in ivermectin treatment in 2005 with a therapeutic coverage of 12 o/o. WHO/PBD Page 5 2.2. The twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth NGDO Coordination Group meetings The2Tth and28ftmeetings ofthe NGDO Group were respectivelyheld in Ouagadougou, Burkina-Faso (8-10 March 2006) and Geneva, Switzerland (5-8 September 2006). The latter meeting was heldjointly with the LF NGDO Network. The following is a summary of the key issues, conclusions and recommendations of these meetings: Following IMA withdrawal support to the Bas-Congo and Tshopo CDTI projects as of mid- 2006, HKI and CBM respectively agreed to continue supporting these projects. From the 2005 ivermectin treatment figures presented in September 2006, the NGDO Coordination Group noted with concern that total treatments in Nigeria had been decreasing since the withdrawal of APOC funding and requested TCC to review this issue and identify a mechanism to address this. The NGDO Coordination Group thanked Dr Grace Fobi for the information on SIZ operations. However, the Group expressed concern about epidemiological findings in some areas despite prolonged treatment and requested that the Special Advisory Committee (SAC) and APOC Management address this in the context of the expanded pan-African programme. a o a o a a The NGDO Coordination Group noted that the recent epidemiological data for C6te d'Ivoire is only available for the southem part of the country. There is a need to obtain data from the whole country and HKI offered to support this process in consultation with the West African Health Organization and APOC. The NGDO Coordination Group recognized the potential role of WAHO, the official health agency of Economic Community of West African States, in the coordination and advocacy for onchocerciasis control in West Africa. The Group recommended that WAHO and APOC work more closely together. Participants appreciated the strong commitment expressed by WHO for a more comprehensive approach to control of neglected tropical diseases and noted the progress made in developing guidelines for preventive chemotherapy. With regard to the USAID Grant for NTDs, NGDOs with considerable experience in supporting onchocerciasis, LF and trachoma programmes, requested representation on its oversight committee to foster communication and coordination of efforts. The Group commended the partners of the Manu River Union (Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone) for the initiative taken to address cross-border issues and to try to synchronize treatment in the border areas. 2.3. Future challenges facing the NGDO Group The NGDO Group continues to face some challenges such as: o Needs for extra funding in order to maintain the ongoing CDTI projects and expand treatment to the remaining 27 mlllion additional people scattered mainly in conflict or post-conflict zones. o WHOIPBD Page 6 a The sustainability of CDTI projects, especially in countries with few or inexistent counterpart tunding. Proper monitoring and appropriate management of serious adverse events (SAEs) inhighrisk areas of co-endemicity onchocerciasis-loiasis in countries like Angola, DRC and Sudan where additional CDTI were launched in 2006. The remaining CDTI projects will be launched in early 2007. a Needs for additional NGOs to assist the remaining CDTI projects in DRC. 3. CONCLUSION The NGDO Group reiterated its commitment to continue supporting CDTI activities as long as needed. However, better coordination, an effective and true partnership with additional funds, would allow successflrl onchocerciasis control in future. Members will also continue with the integration of CDTI projects and their co-implementation with other health interventions in order to ensure the sustainability of CDTI activities. a .]