Assosa. 10 October 2014 – A high-level joint mission led by Dr Kebede Worku, Ethiopian State Minister of Health with Dr Pierre-M’pele-Kilebou, WHO Representative to Ethiopia, Dr Jean-Baptiste Roungou, Director of the Africa Program for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC) and team leaders and technical officers from the three entitities visited the regional Onchocerciasis Program in Assosa.

The mission aimed to acknowledge the progress made in Ethiopia in disease control efforts, and “The tremendous achievement in therapeutic coverage and an encouraging geographic coverage [of the distribution of Ivermectin],” as remarked by Dr Roungou. The delegation met with the regional government led by the Vice-President of the Region, Ambassador Misganaw Admasu, in the presence of cabinet members, the Head of the Regional Health Bureau, Ato Habtamu Taye and the Regional Onchocerciasis Program Team. 

Onchocerciasis, also known as River Blindness, is a disease that causes blindness and disfiguring skin damage. In Onchocerciasis control and elimination efforts, the drug Ivermectin is administered once-to-twice yearly in communities through community-driven drug distribution (CDTI). 

The high-level mission went on a field visit in Dabus Atinbako Kebele of Assosa Zone, where they met with and encouraged the community to actively participate in Ivermectin treatment to ensure control and elimination of the disease. Following the field visit, APOC donated two Toyota Land-cruisers to facilitate the mobility of the regional Onchocerciasis Control Program to reach everyone within the region.

In thanking the high-level mission for their contribution to the control of neglected tropical diseases in the region, Vice-President of the Region, Ambassador Misganaw Admasu confirmed that the regional government, the Cabinet members and the health bureau will each contribute to cascade the support down to the lowest level to ensure that affected communities are freed from this scourge.

Following a recent policy shift from Onchocerciasis control to elimination, the Federal Ministry of Health has established the Ethiopian Elimination of Onchocerciasis Expert Advisory Committee (EEOEAC).

For more information, please contact Dr Abate Mulugeta Beshah, Neglected Tropical Diseases, WHO Ethiopia, email:  beshahb [at] who.int, Tel: +251 911 401 001or Loza Mesfin Tesfaye, Communications, WHO Ethiopia, email:  tesfayel [at] who.int , Tel: +251 911 144 194.

PHOTOS: WHO Ethiopia/ Loza Mesfin Tesfaye