A face-to-face and back-to-back meeting of national programme managers and the RPRG for the LF, STH, and SCH was convened by WHO-SEARO in New Delhi, India from 28 June to 1 July 2022, to review the progress in the above national programmes and scientific community in the Regional and Global levels since the last meeting (held virtually, 14-17 June, 2021). The meeting was participated by 72 participants, including 18 LF/STH/schistosomiasis focal points from 9 countries and 12 members of the RPRG.
The objectives of the meeting were as follow:
- To review the progress in implementation of the recommendations of the latest RPRG meeting and programmatic progress in elimination of LF and SCH and control of STH in endemic countries of the Region, identify gaps and recommend priority actions to address remaining operational and technical challenges
- To review the annual reports and drug application submitted by endemic countries for WHO donation of albendazole, mebendazole and DEC and recommend the quantity of the drugs to be donated
- To foster experience sharing and discussion among national programme managers and implementing partners to identify innovative practices, solutions, and remaining research gaps across countries to enhance various programmatic components for accelerating elimination and control of NTDs in the Region
Following presentations of the country posters, recent evidence, reports on progress, gaps and challenges, there were great opportunities for extensive discussions leading to the following conclusions and recommendations, which were agreed for action with designated responsibilities. In addition, a summary of drug approved for 2023 for the Member States in SE Asia Region was reviewed and endorsed by the RPRG.