A Global Effort
Our Country Partners
In 2024 we partnered with 36 countries (or regions) in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, South America, and the Western Pacific to distribute Mectizan® for the elimination of onchocerciasis (also known as river blindness) and lymphatic filariasis (LF). A total of 406.1 million treatments were approved. This total included 274.2 million treatments of Mectizan (donated by Merck & Co., Inc.) for river blindness, 42.9 million treatments for LF (Mectizan + albendazole [donated by GSK]), 52.8 million treatments in 14 countries implementing “triple therapy” for LF*, and 36.2 million treatments in countries where LF and river blindness are co-endemic.
*Triple therapy is also known as IDA, which stands for ivermectin (Mectizan), diethylcarbamazine (DEC, donated by Eisai), and albendazole.
Mectizan has been sent to 62 countries since the donation was announced in 1987.
| Country/Territory | Status |
|---|---|
| American Samoa | LF treatment ongoing |
| Angola | River blindness & LF treatment ongoing |
| Benin | River blindness treatment ongoing; LF in post-treatment surveillance |
| Brazil | River blindness treatment ongoing |
| Burkina Faso | River blindness & LF treatment ongoing |
| Burundi | River blindness treatment ongoing |
| Cameroon | River blindness treatment ongoing; LF in post-treatment surveillance |
| Central African Republic | River blindness & LF treatment ongoing |
| Chad | River blindness & LF treatment ongoing |
| Colombia | River blindness eliminated |
| Comoros | LF in post-treatment surveillance |
| Congo | River blindness & LF treatment ongoing |
| Côte d'Ivoire | River blindness & LF treatment ongoing |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | River blindness & LF treatment ongoing |
| Ecuador | River blindness eliminated |
| Egypt | LF eliminated (Mectizan was used to clear up hotspots after Egypt was validated to be free of LF) |
| Equatorial Guinea | LF treatment ongoing |
| Eritrea | LF in post-treatment surveillance |
| Ethiopia | River blindness & LF treatment ongoing |
| Fiji | LF treatment ongoing |
| French Polynesia | LF treatment ongoing |
| Gabon | River blindness & LF treatment not started |
| Ghana | River blindness & LF treatment ongoing |
| Guatemala | River blindness eliminated |
| Guinea | River blindness & LF treatment ongoing |
| Guinea-Bissau | River blindness & LF treatment ongoing |
| Guyana | LF treatment ongoing |
| Haiti | LF treatment ongoing |
| India | LF treatment ongoing |
| Indonesia | LF treatment ongoing |
| Kenya | LF in post-treatment surveillance |
| Liberia | River blindness & LF treatment ongoing |
| Madagascar | LF treatment ongoing |
| Malawi | River blindness treatment ongoing; LF eliminated |
| Malaysia | LF treatment ongoing |
| Maldives | LF treatment ongoing to address LF infections detected during post-validation surveillance |
| Mali | River blindness treatment ongoing; LF in post-treatment surveillance |
| Mexico | River blindness eliminated |
| Mozambique | River blindness & LF treatment ongoing |
| Myanmar | LF treatment ongoing |
| Nepal | LF treatment ongoing |
| New Caledonia | LF treatment ongoing |
| Niger | River blindness eliminated; LF treatment ongoing |
| Nigeria | River blindness & LF treatment ongoing |
| Papua New Guinea | LF treatment ongoing |
| Philippines | LF treatment ongoing |
| Samoa | LF treatment ongoing |
| Sao Tome and Príncipe | LF in post-treatment surveillance |
| Senegal | River blindness in post-treatment surveillance; LF treatment ongoing |
| Sierra Leone | River blindness & LF treatment ongoing |
| South Sudan | River blindness & LF treatment ongoing |
| Sudan | River blindness & LF treatment ongoing |
| Tanzania | River blindness & LF treatment ongoing |
| Timor-Leste | LF eliminated |
| Togo | River blindness treatment ongoing; LF eliminated |
| Tonga | LF treatment ongoing to address LF infections detected during post-validation surveillance |
| Tuvalu | LF treatment ongoing |
| Uganda | River blindness treatment ongoing; LF in post-treatment surveillance |
| Venezuela | River blindness treatment ongoing |
| Wallis and Futuna | LF treatment ongoing to address LF infections detected during post-validation surveillance |
| Yemen | River blindness treatment ongoing; LF eliminated |
| Zimbabwe | LF treatment ongoing |