Celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Mectizan donation all year with our series of new videos. Seventh: The Scale-Up – Big problems require big solutions.
Big problems require big solutions. Adding albendazole to Mectizan distribution enables Community Drug Distributors to tackle two diseases at once. The foundation built by the donation of Mectizan for river blindness helped LF elimination programs in co-endemic countries to scale up quickly. This success inspired other drug donations for Neglected Tropical Diseases, bringing billions of treatments to those at risk. Today, countries work with NGOs using the strategy to treat multiple diseases like schistosomiasis, trachoma, soil-transmitted helminthiasis, and of course, river blindness and lymphatic filariasis. The people at the end of the road now have access to these essential medicines. Strong partnership is the secret to success.