Community-driven interventions can revolutionise control of neglected tropical diseases

• Published in: Trends in parasitology Vol. 28; no. 6; pp. 231 - 238
• Main Authors: Amazigo, Uche V, Leak, Stephen G.A, Zoure, Honorat G.M, Njepuome, Ngozi, Lusamba-Dikassa, Paul-Samson
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Ltd 01-06-2012; Elsevier
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; blindness; Communicable Disease Control - economics; Communicable Disease Control - organization & administration; Communicable Diseases; Community Health Services - economics; Community Health Services - organization & administration; community-directed treatment; Delivery of Health Care - economics; Delivery of Health Care - organization & administration; Developing Countries; disease control; Gastroenterology and Hepatology; General aspects; Global Health; Health Priorities; Humans; Infectious Disease; Infectious diseases; infrastructure; lymphatic filariasis; mass drug administration; Medical sciences; neglected tropical diseases; NTDs; onchocerciasis; Parasitic diseases; parasitology; Poverty; schistosomiasis; soil-transmitted helminths; Tropical Climate; Tropical Medicine; United States; lymphatic filariasis; NTDs; neglected tropical diseases; onchocerciasis; mass drug administration; soil-transmitted helminths; schistosomiasis; community-directed treatment; Parasite; Tropical disease
• ISSN: 1471-4922; 1471-5007
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2012.03.002

Whether global health interventions target diseases (vertical), systems (horizontal) or both (diagonal), they must address the challenge of delivering services in very remote areas of poor countries with inadequate infrastructure. The primacy of this challenge has been underscored by persistent service-delivery difficulties despite several large financial commitments – the latest, US $363 million in the January 2012 London Declaration. Community-driven approaches, pioneered in river blindness control, show that engaging communities can maximise access and performance. This experience should inform a paradigm shift in disease control whereby communities are empowered to extend health service access themselves.