Sénégal stopped treatment for river blindness country-wide in 2022 and has begun the three-year post-treatment surveillance (PTS) phase for verifying elimination of river blindness.
If Sénégal passes the required evaluations at the end of PTS, it will be on track to submit an elimination dossier to WHO for verification of elimination of transmission. To be verified as free of river blindness by WHO, countries must demonstrate they do not share any active transmission foci with neighboring countries.
The fall 2023 Mectizan Expert Committee meeting, held in Dakar, provided an excellent opportunity to discuss the challenges faced by countries like Sénégal. Despite making great progress, these countries are at risk of recrudescence while neighboring countries are still fighting river blindness. There is a need for robust monitoring and cross-border collaboration to prevent cross-border transmission from neighboring countries where transmission is ongoing.
To protect Sénégal’s achievement of stopping treatment, the Mectizan Expert Committee recommended that a special intervention zone be created on the borders between Sénégal and its neighboring countries Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and Mali—to prevent reintroduction of infection.
In 2023, MDP further addressed the issue by supporting collaboration between the National Onchocerciasis Elimination Committees (NOECs) in Guinea and Nigeria. MDP will continue to support NOEC meetings in 2024 to foster collaboration among countries.