Restarting Neglected Tropical Diseases Programs in West Africa during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons Learned and Best Practices.

ABSTRACT: Countries across West Africa began reporting COVID-19 cases in February 2020. By March, the pandemic began disrupting activities to control and eliminate neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) as health ministries ramped up COVID-19-related policies and prevention measures. This was followed by interim guidance from the WHO in April 2020 to temporarily pause mass drug administration (MDA) and community-based surveys for NTDs. While the pandemic was quickly evolving worldwide, in most of West Africa, governments and health ministries took quick action to implement mitigation measures to slow the spread. The U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID) Act to End NTDs | West program (Act | West) began liaising with national NTD programs in April 2020 to pave a path toward the eventual res

SUBMITTER: Kabore A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8641318 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature