Date: 2018-03-22 20:25:24 ID: 1821
Sikasso, Mali, 22 March 2018 – The West Africa Health Organization (WAHO), from 20 to 22 March 2018, organized a meeting for the evaluation and planning of cross-border activities among Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger in line with the program for mass treatment campaigns against neglected tropical diseases.
The objective of the three-day meeting was to support the three beneficiary countries of the project on Malaria and Neglected tropical Diseases in the Sahel (Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger), towards the planning and efficient implementation of harmonized strategies for the control of malaria and NTDs at cross-border areas.
More specifically, the meeting aimed at: (i) contributing towards the preparations and implementation of mass treatment campaigns against NTDs, (ii) contributing to the planning and implementation of cross-border activities, (iii) holding discussions on collaboration among cross-border health districts to improve disease surveillance, including malaria and NTDs, and (iv) discussing the role of Rapid Task Forces (RTF) in the management of public health events along the cross-border areas.
The Chief Director at the office of the Governor of Sissako chaired the opening session, and with him were the representative of the Director General of WAHO and the National Director of Health of the Ministry of health and public hygiene of the Republic of Mali.
In his will welcome statement, the representative of the Director General of WAHO, M. Sani ALI, Health professional in charge of planning, expressed WAHO’s gratitude to the government of Mali for accepting to host the meeting and for the constant support the organization has received in the pursuit of its mission. He highlighted the relevance of the M/NTDs project in improving the health status of the catchment area. He underscored the importance of collaboration among the regions and the border districts as well as the need to harmonize strategies and the activities involving the mass treatment campaigns against NTDs.
In his opening address, Mr Hamadoun Barry, Chief Director to the Governor Sikasso region, warmly welcomed to Sissoko participants from sister countries: Burkina Faso and Niger. After recalling the objectives of the meeting, he emphasized the importance the authorities of ECOWAS member States attach to the health of the people. Before declaring the meeting open, he commended the efforts of the World Bank, working with WAHO, to support the three sahelian countries in the implementation of relevant interventions under this project.
The meeting brought together members of the cross-border subcommittee, national project Coordinators of the three countries, M/NTD Coordinators and regional Directors of health of the border regions of each country. Also present were representatives of each border health District and local authorities. There were about 100 participants in total.
During the three days of deliberations, each country presented (1) the level of implementation of the recommendations from the previous cross-border meeting held in Niamey in March 2017, (2) the cross-border activities completed for the 2017 and the results obtained as well as the strategies/activities for effectively covering the cross-border areas during the period, per level, and the group work on summary of cross-border activities to be jointly carried out among the regions.
The participants/countries also worked on micro planning of cross-border activities to be undertaken by level and jointly, during the companies.
Reminder about the Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases project in the Sahel and the rationale for the meeting on the evaluation and planning of cross-border activities among Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger within the framework of organizing mass treatment campaigns for neglected tropical diseases:
Within the framework of its priority development interventions against extreme poverty and for the promotion of shared prosperity, the World Bank (WB) decided, in collaboration with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), to invest in the health sector through, among others, the implementation of the Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases project in the Sahel. This is a regional project covering three sahelian ECOWAS member countries (Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger).
The project involves national interventions to be implemented by the countries and a regional dimension for the coordination and implementation of regional activities under the responsibility of WAHO. The project will be implemented through tested regional strategies for malaria and NTDs control, based on regional best practices and WHO recommendations. National and cross-border interventions will be implemented in order to strengthen the strategies for controlling malaria and NTDs in the cross-border areas where prevalence and transmission of the diseases is highest and access to services lowest.
Hence the establishment of cross-border committees bringing together district health workers, local authorities, NGOs and community-based organizations as well as local community leaders. These committees are responsible for planning, coordinating and implementing interventions as well as monitoring and evaluation activities involving two or several districts on both sides of the border (whether they are national borders or between districts or provinces), since the areas of cross-border movements are often overpopulated and has a lot of traffic. It therefore appears indispensable for the representatives from both sides of the border to meet together and jointly plan the activities in order to determine how to cover the localities situated on both sides of the border. This will before involve designing strategies that will enable the community to benefit from prevention and treatment services against malaria and NTDs on both sides of the border.
In this regard, WAHO, pursuant to regional mission to coordinate interventions under the project, and with the view to supporting countries to prepare for Mass Treatment campaigns against Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) and Chemoprevention of Seasonal Malaria (CSM), proposes to organize this meeting to evaluate and plan the cross-border activities along each board with a view to organizing is synchronized mass treatment campaign NTDs and CSM.
Article submitted by WAHO Communications Unit_HHK_220318
