Welcoming Dr. Dembélé to the MDP Team
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Benoit Dembélé has joined the Mectizan Donation Program as Senior Program Officer. In this role, he oversees the Mectizan application review process and the supply chain. He will also work with partners to advance strategies for the elimination of river blindness and lymphatic filariasis (LF).
Dr. Dembélé is a medical doctor and public health specialist with over 20 years’ experience in malaria and NTDs including river blindness and LF. Please join us in welcoming Dr. Dembélé!
NTD Program Managers Address Challenges to Reaching the WHO 2030 NTD Road Map Goals
In April, MDP’s Dr. Yao Sodahlon attended the annual meeting of NTD Program Managers in Africa, held this year in Malawi. He joined experts gathered to discuss integrating NTD services into primary health care, increasing domestic financing, using AI and other digital tools to improve program delivery, and expanding local production of medicines and diagnostics. The group also reviewed a Memorandum of Understanding on cross-border collaboration to prevent disease reintroduction.
WHA Side Event Convened to Drive Cross-Border Collaboration
In May, the WHO Global Onchocerciasis Network for Elimination (GONE) and the African Union Commission organized a high-level side event at the 79th World Health Assembly. Titled “Cross-Border Collaboration to Achieve Malaria and NTD Elimination,” the meeting brought global health leaders together to find practical solutions for overcoming challenges to disease elimination efforts. Dr. Allison Goldberg, President of Merck Foundation, highlighted in her remarks the impact of the Mectizan Donation Program and its contributions to improving health outcomes in communities around the world.
The event concluded with an endorsement of the Memorandum of Understanding on cross-border collaboration to combat these diseases, a vital step as programs transition from mass drug administration to post-treatment surveillance.
PAHO and The Carter Center Pledge Cooperation
Also at the 79th World Health Assembly, Dr. Jarbas Barbosa of the WHO Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and Dr. Kashef Ijaz of The Carter Center signed an agreement to strengthen their partnership to fight river blindness, LF, and malaria in the Americas.
The region has achieved remarkable success toward the elimination of river blindness. Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Mexico were the first countries in the world to be verified by WHO for having eliminated transmission of the disease. Close collaboration among partners is essential to overcome the challenges that remain, particularly in reaching the Yanomami indigenous communities in the Amazon, a cross-border population located between Brazil and Venezuela where transmission persists. “This agreement reinforces the importance of regional solidarity, technical cooperation, and strong partnerships to reach the populations that need these services most,” said Dr. Barbosa.
In case you missed it:
New Integrated PVS Toolkit for NTDs
This timely new guide from the WHO helps to identify opportunities to integrate post-validation and post-verification surveillance activities with existing platforms and health systems.
Entomology in the Elimination of River Blindness
A supplement has been published by the journal International Health with 14 papers exploring the importance of entomology in the efforts to eliminate river blindness (onchocerciasis).
Mectizan Donation Program Annual Highlights of 2025
Read about the activities of the Mectizan Donation Program and partners in the fight to eliminate river blindness and lymphatic filariasis—including the celebration of five billion Mectizan treatments donated.
NGO Spotlight
Putting a Human Face on the Work
A new video from The Carter Center demonstrates the far-reaching value of engaging supporters. Board member C.D. Glin traveled to Ethiopia this spring to see first-hand how communities are working to eliminate river blindness with MDA, conduct surveillance, and find solutions to problems along the way. As he explains, the experience had a dramatic impact on his perspective and deepened his ability to describe the value of his work as a board member: “I’m changed as a result of this trip.”
The Mectizan Donation Program is an international program to eliminate river blindness and lymphatic filariasis primarily funded by Merck & Co., Inc.*, with support from GSK.
*Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, New Jersey, USA, is known as MSD outside the United States and Canada.