Building national programme capacity to implement WHO‐recommended strategies

WHO helps countries and regions to build capacity for planning, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of onchocerciasis elimination programmes by supporting the development of standard treatment guidelines for front‐line health-care workers and school and community volunteers who participate in school and community-based mass drug administration (MDA). WHO also participates in the creation of additional training resources for regions and countries adapted to service delivery environments and availability of local resources. A comprehensive practical course on onchocerciasis is addressed as part of the package of NTD programmes.

Furthermore, regional and national workshops are held in collaboration with WHO regional offices to build the skills of health workers within the health ministries of endemic countries and enable them to implement the recommended strategies.  A training course for NTD programme managers is available here.

In the Eastern Mediterranean Region, WHO is supporting Yemen to initiate the national onchocerciasis elimination programme and is working in partnership to support mapping of known areas of transmission using the Ov-16 serological test. Yemen launched its first MDA with ivermectin in 2016 with the goal of eliminating the disease, and WHO continues to provide technical support and capacity‐building through its headquarters and regional and country offices.