Neglected Infectious Diseases Safety Program — delivering community benefits while minimizing harm: Experiences and lessons learned from the Americas
Date
2024-10-18Document Number
PAHO/CDE/VT/24-0005
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Neglected infectious diseases (NIDs) affect more than 1 billion people globally, causing serious long-term health effects on the most vulnerable populations. In 2020 the World Health Assembly endorsed a global road map 2021–2030 for tackling neglected tropical diseases that sets targets and milestones as well as cross-cutting targets aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. To treat infected persons and reduce disease transmission, the World Health Organization (WHO) advocates for a rapid impact intervention: preventive chemotherapy (PC). PC is the administration of safe and effective treatment to a defined population at regular time intervals, regardless of infection status. In the Americas, more than 100 million people suffer from one or more NIDs. Of the people at risk of NIDs in Latin America and the Caribbean, many are receiving safe and effective treatment through mass administration of medications for five diseases: lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, blinding trachoma, soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH), and schistosomiasis. These medications are donated, while others are procured through the Strategic Fund of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) or through the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Safety should be assured at every step of the process, from the manufacture of the drugs and assuring their quality and regulatory standards, to shipment and management of drugs in the supply chain, to their administration in the community. A critical condition to success when implementing PC is to “do no harm” while delivering the health services, which relies largely on careful planning, communication, training, monitoring and prompt investigation of serious adverse events (SAEs), and supervision at all levels. In 2021 WHO updated the guidelines and developed training modules for community drug distributors, health workers, and other front-line workers and partners. The modules address key aspects of drug safety, which include management, storage, and packaging of medicines; safe administration of medicines to ensure safety and prevent choking; identification, management, and reporting of adverse events (AEs); and effective communication with communities and health staff. The Fred Hollows Foundation and IZUMI Foundation funded PAHO to implement a two-year project to strengthen safety in administration of medications to eliminate NIDs in the countries of the Americas. Planning and tailoring the educational materials to train different audiences were conducted as a joint effort with the participation of partners from RTI international, Task Force for Global Health, and The Fred Hollows Foundation. This report describes the experience and lessons learned for strengthening regional and national capacities to plan, prepare, and monitor the safe administration of medicines for treatment of NIDs in the endemic countries of the Americas.
Pages
54 p.
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