After Mectizan was donated by Merck & Co., Inc.* for river blindness, other pharmaceutical companies began donating medicines for neglected tropical diseases, building on the system developed to distribute Mectizan by enlisting community volunteers. To be effective, treatments must consistently reach every person who is at risk. Community Drug Distributors (CDDs) are selected by their peer community members and trained by health professionals to understand the diseases, distribute medications, maintain careful records, and encourage their neighbors to take the treatments. In this video, you’ll hear from CDDs in Cameroon, Malawi, and Togo about how they manage this important work…and why.
*Merck & Co., Inc. is known as MSD outside the USA and Canada.