2030 targets for soil-transmitted helminthiases control programmes
Overview
The “NTD Roadmap”, published by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2012,set two targets for the control of soil-transmitted helminthiases (STH) by 2020, namely:
- 75% of preschool (pre-SAC) and school-age children (SAC) in need of treatment are regularly treated; and
- 75% coverage with preventive chemotherapy (PC) is achieved in pre-SAC and SAC in 100% of countries.
These process indicators were selected at a time when STH control programmes were few and global coverage was estimated to be only around 15%. In addition, the cost–effectiveness of school-based deworming programmes was beginning to be fully appreciated. Expansion of programme coverage was therefore identified as an immediate priority.
Although women of reproductive age (WRA) have always been considered an important risk group for STH, no 2020 coverage targets for WRA were proposed because the Roadmap included only targets that were regarded as being achievable. WRA, with four specific subgroups of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women and other adult women, were considered to be much more difficult to reach.
Between 2010 and 2017, coverage of PC in pre-SAC and SAC has steadily increased. Data collected from the 103 countries endemic for STH in 2017 show that the two Roadmap targets are well within reach by 2020.
In parallel with the increase in PC coverage, there have been additional important achievements. It is estimated that, in 2015, STH control programmes averted the loss of more than 500 000 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in pre-SAC and SAC, out of the total of 1 300 000 DALYs that would have been lost without such programmes. Several countries have already completely eliminated STH morbidity (that is, morbidity caused almost exclusively by STH infections of moderate and heavy intensity). Furthermore, a number of countries have conducted PC programmes for more than 5 years and are evaluating their epidemiological impact in terms of morbidity.
