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

African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC) Programme africain de lutte contre l'onchocercose JAF.FACJOINT ACTION FORUM Office of the Chairman JOINT ACTION FORI]M Eleventh session Paris. France. 6:9Dqqerubar 2005 FORUM D'ACTION COMMI.]NE Bureau du Pr6sident JAr'11.9 ORIGINAL: ENGLISH October 2005 Item 7 of the Provisional Aeenda REPORT OF'THE NGDO COORDINATION GROUP F'OR ONCHOCERCIASIS CONTROL INCLUDING THE SUPPORT OF THE GROUP TO APOC ACTIVITIES TTIE NGIDO GOOUDINATION GBOT'P FOB ONCIIOCENGIASIS GONTROL Report to the llth Session of the Joint Action Forum Report for Year 2005 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 t : " a:'.$k, ;l,.. : "i &r ;.\.. ,,."" ' f '-"q 1.i ,-'- ,4 '; .? rl i.. i\ .: t,N ,b-.' ,;3'.- ,r,6 s. ." a .:, ; i,: '.:,1 ,,rs ' i4 ' . '*"d". ,ll" li'r* WHO/PBD Page 2 1. INTRODUCTION Since the beginning of this year, intense activities were conducted to increase the number of NGDO Group members. As a result, two new members joined the NGDO Group in Septemb er 2005, namely Light for the World from Austria and United Front Against Riverblindness (UFAR) from USA/DRC. In addition, Charitable Society for Social Welfare (CSSW) from Yemen who attended the last NGDO Group meeting in September 2005 in Bensheim, Germany, expressed interest to joining the Group at some time in the future. Apart from Angola, Chad and Equatorial Guinea, members of the Group were involved in all 16 APOC countries where CDTI activities were being implemented in 2005. At the same time, some members of the Group also supported ivermectin distribution in almost all former OCP countries and SZ except in Benin where one Group member was invited this year to assist ivermectin distribution programmes. Finally, two NGDO Group members (CBM and the Carter Center) assisted ivermectin distribution in six countries of Latin-America. This report, therefore, covers activities undertaken bythe 1 0 old NGDO Group members since the 10ft session of the Joint Action Forum. The key activities highlighted include: NGDO-supported Mectizan@ distribution in 2004; 25th and 26th sessions of the NGDO Group meetings; Support to APOC, and Future challenges facing the Group. 2. NGDO GROUP ACTIVITIES 2.1 Ongoing NGDO-supported Mectizan@ distribution activities in 2004 tn2004 the Group supported Mectizan@ treatment to 45.8 million people, as follows 36.9 million in APOC countries, 8.5 million in former OCP countries, and 0.4 million in OEPA countries. This represents an increase of more than 6 million people treated in2004 compared to the previous year. WHOIPBD Page 3 NGDO Supported Treatment with Mectizan within the APOC OCP and OEPA Partnershi,50 40 30 tr o = o CL 920 CL E10 :tt 0 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 't994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2oo1 2002 2oo3 2004 Years E OEPA T OCP I APOC I TOTAI Data for 2005 will be collected at the beginning of next year as treatment was still ongoing in some projects a , WHO/PBD Page 4 Table 1:NGDO-supported Mectizan@ Treatment within the APOC, former-OcP & OEPA Partnership - 2004 REGION COUNTRY (UTG) Ultimate Treatment Goal (ATO) Annual Treatment Objectives Number of People Treated ln 2004 ATO Goverage (%l UTG Coverage Phl APOC APOC APOC APOC APOC APOC APOC APOC APOC APOC APOC APOC APOC OCP ocP ocP ocP ocP OCP OCP OEPA NIGERIA DRC* CAMEROON ETHIOPIA- SUDAN UGANDA MALAWI TANZANIA CHAD CAR LIBERIA GABON CONGO SENEGAL MALI GUINEA GHANA"* TOGO SIERRA LEONE BURKINA FASO OEPA 2,353,809 900,000 2,520,000 497,426 444,558 22,122,017 8,779,701 3,456,182 2,572,164 4,478,895 1,268,490 1,322,689 1,509,505 '1,311,125 1,260,000 1,635,603 I 8,615 1493,746 I r zs,+os| 't,72',t,695 1,942,833 20,510,776 5,321,876 3,195,388 2,572,164 1,431,474 1,259,955 1,058,151 1,418,213 1,311,125 1,260,000 762,089 8,615 377,571 175,409 1,658,695 2,151,809 550,000 2,520,000 1,104,253 497,426 444,558 19,574,146 5,048,554 3,075,510 2,353,759 779,806 1,220,522 1,095,530 1,271,453 1,014,879 864,937 231,500 6,242 380,351 167,375 1 ,632,193 2,206,130 647,886 1,990,348 1,345,339 506,309 429,550 95 95 96 92 54 97 104 90 77 69 30 72 101 95 98 103 118 79 102 97 122 88 58 89 92 17 96 83 84 77 69 14 72 77 95 95 94 72 79 69 102 97 TOTAL 60,774,462 49,589,547 45,842,319 92 75 I * UTG of only NGDO-supported CDTI projects ** Figures for only Western Region Although Angola and Burundi are not included in this table, CDTI activities are being implemented in one CDTI project per country. Following the joint mission undertaken by APOC Management and CBM stafl Burundi is planning to launch the remaining two CDTI projects before the end of this year. [n addition, another joint APOC-NGDO mission is to be held end September / beginning October 2005 in order to boost the launching of the remaining CDTI activities in Angola. Data from Equatorial Guinea were not included since none of the NGDO Group is involved in CDTI activities of the country. WHO/PBD Page 5 2.2 The twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth NGDO Coordination Group meetings The 25th md,26h meetings ofthe NGDO Group tookplace in Ouagadougou, Burkina-Faso (10-12 March) and Bensheim, Germany (7-9 September 2005) respectively. The following is a summary of the key issues, conclusions and recommendations of these meetings: o The Group reaffirmed the need to maintain its role in supporting onchocerciasis control up till and after 2010. o The Group also reaffirmed the need to maintain the post of the NGDO Coordinator and the office in Geneva in order to liaise with Neglected Diseases tnitiative and investigate potential funding opportunities at the European Union. o The Group members were unequivocal in affirming that the future for onchocerciasis lies in integration with other appropriate community-directed interventions according to the mandate of each individual Group member. o With regard to the integration ofreproductive health with CDTI, the Group expressed concern about the potential for negative impact on ivermectin treatment. In future, the Group requested to be consulted before any new initiatives are considered for integration into CDTI.o The Group noted the developments in the lymphatic filariasis (LF) programme and agreed to support the integration of LF with onchocerciasis control where appropriate and to work closely with LF NGDO Network. o Regarding the proposed extension of APOC, the Group agreed that there was a need to do so, but strongly recommended a revised programme document and a reformed management skucture to address: (i) the mandate should be amended to reflect the need to integrate onchocerciasis prograrnmes with other appropriate health interventions; (ii) it should expand its mandate to coordinate control activities throughout Africa; (iii) more funding would be needed to enable the programme to fulfil its mandate and (iv) there was a need to ensure that there was a more equitable partnership between all the stakeholders. o With regard to Special lnterventions Zones and former OCP countries, the Group continues to urge the creation of apermanent mechanism ofcoordination to ensure that the continent is guarded againit recrudescence of the disease, and to address cross-border issues and those areas still in need of effective control measures. Members also saw an important role for the West Africa Health Organization in advocating for onchocerciasis control throughout West Africa.o The Group was informed that UNICEF Nigeria was planning to wind down its support to onchocerciasis control in that country. At present, UMCEF Nigeria supports nearly half of ihe UTG and there was considerable concern expressed that the high level of treatments would not be maintained. The Group therefore requested this important development be discussed as a matter of urgency in the appropriate fora. WHO/PBD Page 6 2.3 NGDO Group Onchocerciasis Programme Support Statement Due to lack of complete treatment data costs from the members, relevant f,rgures are not available for 2004 2.4. Future challenges facing the NGDO Group The NGDO Group continues to face some challenges such as Needs for extra funding in order to maintain the ongoing CDTI projects and expand treatment to the remaining 35 to 40 million additional people scattered in conflict or post-conflict zones. The sustainability of CDTI projects, especially in countries with few or inexistent counterpart funding for the Government. Proper monitoring and appropriate management of serious adverse events (SAEs) in high risk areas of co-endemicity onchocerciasis-loiasis in countries like Angola, DRC and Sudan where new CDTI will be launched soon. Needs for additional NGOs to assist the remaining CDTI projects in DRC and Angola. 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 successful onchocerciasis control in future. o a a