WHO revises onchocerciasis guidelines as countries approach elimination targets
Geneva, 22 January 2016 - The World Health Organization (WHO) targets the elimination of onchocerciasis (river blindness) in Latin America, in selected African countries and in Yemen by 2020 as highlighted in the WHO Roadmap on neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). As countries approach the end of the treatment phase, WHO has published revised guidelines incorporating new evidence gathered during the past 15 years.
WHO published its last onchocerciasis guidelines in 2001. Since then, the Onchocerciasis Elimination Program for the Americas (OEPA) has interrupted transmission in most foci. With sustained progress, WHO estimates that 12 countries in Africa (Benin, Burundi, Chad, Kenya, Mali, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Malawi, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo) will have eliminated the disease by 2020.
Following the closure of the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC) on 31 December 2015, a new entity – the Expanded Special Project for Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases (ESPEN) – which will be launched in May 2016,will promote an integrated approach to tackling onchocerciasis, along with four other high-burden neglected tropical diseases, including lymphatic filariasis, trachoma, schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiases.
WHO is facilitating the launch of an elimination programme in Yemen (where onchocerciasis in endemic) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Population, the World Bank and other international partners.
