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Resources and Tools
Data Quality Assessment (DQA) for NTDs
Working with the World Health Organization, RTI has developed a tool for assessing the quality of data for NTDs which focuses exclusively on
(1) verifying the quality of reported data, and (2) assessing the underlying data management and reporting systems for standard program-level output indicators to validate the reported achievements within the health information monitoring and reporting system, as well as identify areas that need strengthening.WHO/ENVISION, January 2016.
News
The Story Behind The River Blindness Story: Itching, Weeding, Snipping
16 January 2016
NPR’s Jason Beaubien is interviewed regarding his journey to Ghana, where yearly doses of ivermectin have dramatically reduced the scourge of river blindness, a disease caused by parasitic worms that can rob people of their sight.
News
What A Difference A Drug Makes In The Fight Against River Blindness
12 January 2016
An article describing the importance of and complexity in distributing ivermectin annually to people affected by onchocerciasis. NPR, January 14, 2016.
Resources and Tools
Onchocerciasis (CDC Resource Page)
CDC Factsheet on onchocerciasis (river blindness). CDC, 2015.
WHO Guide
Training in Monitoring and Epidemiological Assessment of Mass Drug Administration for Eliminating Lymphatic Filariasis: Learner’s Guide (Portuguese version)
Learner’s Guide for the training program (Portuguese version). WHO, 2015.
Learners Guide Portuguese (3.14 MB)Report
Responding to Failed Transmission Assessment Surveys
Report of ad hoc meeting, convened to respond to requests by national lymphatic filariasis elimination programmes for the best available guidance on: (i) investigating failures of transmission assessment surveys (TAS); and (ii) identifying corrective actions to both prevent and respond to failures.
Responding Failed TAS-eng (1.20 MB)News
Merck & Co., Inc. and The Mectizan Donation Program Congratulate Awardees of 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for Discovery Leading to River Blindness Treatment
05 October 2015
KENILWORTH, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Merck (NYSE:MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, proudly congratulates William C. Campbell (pictured/Reuters/Brian Snyder), a retired scientist from Merck Research Laboratories, who was jointly named the 2015 Nobel Prize winner in Physiology or Medicine with Satoshi Omura for the discovery of avermectin, which led to Merck’s development of Mectizan (ivermectin), a treatment for river blindness (also known as onchocerciasis) in Africa, Latin America and Yemen.
News
Newest Victory in Onchocerciasis Elimination: Mexico!
29 September 2015
Please join The Mectizan Donation Program in congratulating the government of Mexico on the elimination of transmission of river blindness. Congratulations also to The Carter Center and its Onchocerciasis Elimination Program for the Americas for their support and dedication to help Mexico achieve this remarkable milestone as the 3rd country in the Americas to eliminate onchocerciasis.
News
International Coalition Urges Final Push to Eliminate River Blindness from the Americas
29 September 2015
Country efforts supported by a major public-private partnership—including The Carter Center/OEPA, PAHO/WHO, and Merck & Co., Inc.’s Mectizan Donation Program—bring the region closer to achieving the elimination goal by 2020.
Resources and Tools
SAE Handbook (English, French, and Portuguese versions)
A Handbook for Managing Adverse Events Following Mass Drug Administration (AEs-f-MDA) and Serious Adverse Events (SAEs). ENVISION, April 2015.
A user-friendly, step-by-step approach for the management of AEs-f-MDA and the reporting of SAEs by managers of preventive chemotherapy programs.