Kala-Azar elimination programme
Report of a WHO consultation of partners, Geneva, Switzerland, 10–11 February 2015
Overview
More than 147 million people in the WHO South-East Asia Region are at risk of contracting the Leishmania parasites that cause visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar), a life-threatening disease. Bangladesh, India and Nepal have the largest burden of the disease in the Region, with recent, sporadic cases being reported from Bhutan and Thailand as well. These five countries renewed their commitment to eliminating kala-azar from the Region at a side event held during the thirty-second meeting of Ministers of Health of WHO’s South-East Asia Region (Sixty-seventh Session of the Regional Committee for South-East Asia) in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 9–11 September 2014. This renewed commitment calls on WHO and other partners to support the efforts of Member States in achieving the elimination target before the set date of 2017.
The objectives of the meeting were:
- To jointly review the progress and identify challenges regarding the implementation of kala-azar elimination in the WHO South-East Asia Region;
- To elaborate and review the specific activities, contribution and engagement of partners in elimination efforts in the Region for harmonized, coordinated implementation of interventions; and
- To provide a forum for sharing country experiences, joint planning and review of progress.