By: Agustin Caceres
In Recife, Brasil, the government is using the school system to screen
and treat children for lymphatic filariasis
Brasilia, May 29th 2012 - The 11th Regional
Meeting, organized by the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), is taking place this week in Brasilia (Brazil). In this event,
more than 30 representatives of governments, academia, and donor organizations
in the fight against neglected infectious disease have gathered to
discuss the situation of this NID in the Americas including the success
stories, and also the remaining challenges.
In the opening session, hosted by Dr. Joaquin Molina, Representative
of PAHO in Brazil, and Dr. Jarbas Barbosa da Silva Jr, Secretary of
Health Surveillance of the Health Ministry of Brazil,
highlighted that the disease continues to represent an important challenge
for the health authorities of Latin America and the Caribbean. In
the region, more than 12 million people are at risk of contracting
this disease including Haiti, one of the countries most at risk.
“These meetings demonstrate Brazil’s support for the
elimination of this disease in the country”, said Dr. Barbosa
da Silva. “We are close to the elimination of LF, and that
is why this is such an important step. This disease has to remain
a top priority and this is why it is key that it is addressed with
an integrated approach in collaboration with primary health care services.
It is not just about eradication, but also about sustained surveillance.”
Lymphatic filariasis, which is included in the group of the Neglected
Infectious Diseases, affects mainly indigenous populations, as well
as rural and urban populations that live in pockets of extreme deprivation
in several countries in LAC. This is the case of the metropolitan
area of Recife, in northeastern Brazil, where the Inter-American Development Bank is
supporting a project for the control and elimination of this disease
as well as others like leprosy, still present in several areas in
Brazil, and geohelminthiasis (intestinal parasites), which has a strong
prevalence among children in school age in many municipalities throughout
the country.
More than 30 representatives of several countries in the Region are
attending this event, such as Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, and
Suriname –countries that have certified the eradication of
this disease and therefore are no longer considered endemic- together
with other countries that are still fighting this disease, including
Haiti, Brazil and the Dominican Republic.
The meetings have covered a wide range of topics related to the fight
against this disease: from Suriname’s National Plan of Action
for the control of NIDs to the experience in Integrated Vector Management
in Trinidad and Tobago and the metropolitan area of Recife in Brazil,
where activities to monitor and eliminate breeding sites of the culex mosquito –vector for the transmission of LF- are a key component
in the strategy to eradicate this disease.
The fight against LF is part of the joint efforts of the IDB,
PAHO, and the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases at the Sabin Vaccine Institute as part
of the Neglected Infectious Diseases Initiative for Latin America and the Caribbean,
an initiative that is supporting innovative projects based with an
integrated approach in both the fight against multiple diseases as
well as the integration with other sectors like water, sanitation,
and housing.
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Agustin Caceres is a consultant in Communications and Outreach at the Social Protection and Health Division of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in Washington DC.
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