Southern Sudan: an opportunity for NTD control and elimination? - PubMed (original) (raw)

Southern Sudan: an opportunity for NTD control and elimination?

John Rumunu et al. Trends Parasitol. 2009 Jul.

Abstract

Southern Sudan has been ravaged by decades of conflict and is thought to have one of the highest burdens of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in the world. Health care delivery, including efforts to control or eliminate NTDs, is severely hampered by a lack of infrastructure and health systems. However, the post-conflict environment and Southern Sudan's emerging health sector provide the unprecedented opportunity to build new, innovative programmes to target NTDs. This article describes the current status of NTDs and their control in Southern Sudan and outlines the opportunities for the development of evidence-based, innovative implementation of NTD control.

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Figures

Figure 1

Figure 1

Maps showing (a) the location of Southern Sudan in Africa, its ten states and major towns, highlighting its large size and low population density, (b) areas of Southern Sudan with structures for onchocerciasis control, either in the form of community-drug distributors (red, hatched) or supervision centres for community-directed treatment with ivermectin (red, not hatched), (c) areas covered by the community-based network for Guinea worm eradication, and (d) trachoma-endemic areas already targeted with the SAFE strategy through the Guinea worm network. Both community-based structures shown in (b) and (c) are suitable for additional mass drug administration (MDA) of preventive chemotherapy (PCT).

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