Launch of programme in Tanzania

On Saturday 2nd July 2005, the National Schistosomiasis and Soil Transmitted Helminth Control Programme in Tanzania Mainland was launched

On Saturday 2nd July 2005, the National Schistosomiasis and Soil Transmitted Helminth Control Programme in Tanzania Mainland was launched at Chadulu primary school in Dodoma Municipal, about 450 km from Dar es Salaam.

The Guest of Honour was the Hon. Frederick Sumaye (MP), the Prime Minister, together with Hon. Anna Abdallah (MP), the Minister of Health, Hon. Hussein Mwinyi (MP), the Deputy Minister of Health, Mrs Mariam Mwaffisi, the Permanent Secretary and Mr. Oliver Mhaiki, Director of Primary Education representing the Ministry of Education and Culture. Other guests included the Regional Commissioner for Dodoma, Dr. Mohamed Amri from WHO Tanzania Office, the Director of the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) Dr. Andrew Kitua, Dr. Godfrey Kaatano (NIMR Mwanza), Dr. Ngoma Image (TPRI Arusha) and Mr Ali Foum, (Helminth Control Programme, Zanzibar). SCI was represented by Prof. Alan Fenwick (Director) and Dr. Ursuline Nyandindi (Tanzanian National School Health Manager and SCI coordinator).

Prof. Charles Kihamia from Muhimbili University College of Health Sciences provided technical information to the guests who visited a display of the parasites, images highlighting the consequences of disease and health education material before the ceremony. After the introductions, there were short speeches from several distinguished guests and then a keynote address from the Prime Minister. The speeches were interspersed with entertainment from local school children singing songs and performing drama which highlighted the transmission, symptoms and cure of schistosomiasis. There was also singing and dancing from a special dance troupe from the Dodoma region. The launch ceremony was followed by a treatment demonstration, and all the distinguished guests were dewormed with one lucky school girl receiving praziquantel from the Prime Minister to officially launch the school treatment campaign.

The launch saw the culmination of a year of preparatory activities which have been occurring in country. Parasitological surveys in the Lake and Western Zones of Tanzania took place throughout 2004-2005 to produce disease risk maps to define the intervention strategy. A national survey across every primary school in Tanzania using the self-reported schistosomiasis questionnaire was undertaken to further define the extent of the disease across the country and the final plans for intervention have been produced.

Throughout the rest of 2005, there will be mass treatment of 5 million individuals in the areas with the highest burden of disease. During August the focus will be on the six regions around Lake Victoria where S. haematobium and S. mansoni are prevalent, though the latter is confined to areas close to the lake. Hookworm prevalence is also very high across the regions and therefore albendazole will be co-administered with praziquantel to the targeted 3 million children.

Along the coast a collection of baseline data from randomly selected schools will be followed by training of teachers and then mass treatment of approximately 2 million school children against S. haematobium using praziquantel donated by MedPharm pharmaceuticals assisted by donations from Canadian charities. In the coastal area, albendazole and ivermectin are delivered by the lymphatic filariasis programme during the first week of October, and so praziquantel will be delivered in November.