Health Programs

How is The Carter Center involved?

Nigeria's Schistosomiasis Control Program, in partnership with The Carter Center, began in 1999 in two Nigerian states, Nasarawa and Plateau, expanding to Delta state in 2004. The program assists state ministries of health to distribute the drug praziquantel and provide health education to prevent the disease in villages. Since 1999, nearly 800,000 praziquantel treatments have been distributed in the three states. But there is much to be done. Only half of the children in need in these areas have received treatment.

The Schistosomiasis Control Program is built on the existing community-based treatment approach and drug distribution systems used in the river blindness and lymphatic filariasis programs in Nigeria. Although the Carter Center's goal is to integrate treatment for several diseases whenever possible, it is difficult to integrate praziquantel treatments for schistosomiasis with the Center's lymphatic filariasis and river blindness treatment programs because the cost of praziquantel forces more restricted use. In addition, until now, praziquantel could not be given together with Mectizan and albendazole due to concerns about potential drug reactions. This latter problem seems to have been resolved by a recent clinical trial in Thailand that found it was safe to give these three medicines concurrently (Na-Bangchang et al. Assessments of pharmacokinetic drug interactions and tolerability of albendazole, praziquantel, and ivermectin combinations. Trans Royal Soc Trop Med Hyg [2006]100:335-345). That study has paved the way for so-called triple drug therapy that may potentially solve the problem of multiple village treatment rounds that hinders the field practice of integrated treatment of river blindness, lymphatic filariasis, and schistosomiasis throughout large parts of Africa.

Within three years of instituting praziquantel treatment, Carter Center-assisted programs against schistosomiasis have seen a dramatic decrease in the prevalence of blood in the urine of schoolchildren.