Towards elimination of lymphatic filariasis in southeastern Madagascar: Successes and challenges for interrupting transmission

In 2013, 4 partner organizations: Dietitians of Canada (DC); Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association; Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs; and Ontario Ministry of Education created “Fresh from the Farm” (FFF), a healthy fundraiser for Ontario Schools. FFF was designed to support the Ontario government’s School Food and Beverage Policy and Local Food Act and to provide a feasible alternative for less healthy fundraising options. This paper outlines the program successes and challenges over the 6 years of DC’s involvement. After 6 years, over 1700 schools successfully participated in FFF and over $2 million has been paid to Ontario farmers for product and distribution. The average participating school has generated $2040 in sales towards their fundraising efforts, equating to 770 kg (1700 lbs) of fresh produce per school. Schools reported high satisfaction with FFF, with over 90% of participating schools enrolling in subsequent years. The main reasons for satisfaction included: easy to implement, profitable, offers a healthy alternative to “traditional” fundraising programs, and provides great value for cost. The main challenges were logistics of sourcing and delivery, higher than anticipated costs that made the financial model less feasible than predicted, and competition from other fundraisers.

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Revisiting the Notion of ‘African Solution to African Problems’: Successes and Challenges

Journal of African Union Studies ◽

10.31920/2050-4306/2019/8n2a1 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 9-23 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Bheki R. Mngomezulu ◽

Keyword(s):

Successes And Challenges

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Lymphatic Filariasis in 2016 in American Samoa: Identifying Clustering and Hotspots Using Non-Spatial and Three Spatial Analytical Methods

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.3702976 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Kinley Wangdi ◽

Meru Sheel ◽

Saipale Fuimaono ◽

Patricia M. Graves ◽

Colleen L. Lau

Keyword(s):

Lymphatic Filariasis ◽

Analytical Methods ◽

American Samoa

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The Epitome of Novel Techniques and Targeting Approaches in Drug Delivery for Treating Lymphatic Filariasis

Current Drug Targets ◽

10.2174/1389450121666200630111250 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 21 (12) ◽

pp. 1250-1263

Author(s):

Saurabh Shrivastava ◽

Anshita Gupta ◽

Chanchal Deep Kaur

Keyword(s):

Lymphatic Filariasis ◽

Neglected Tropical Diseases ◽

Therapeutic Interventions ◽

Tropical Diseases ◽

Human Beings ◽

Therapeutic Approaches ◽

Preventive Chemotherapy ◽

Bioactive Substances ◽

Lymphatic Diseases ◽

Life Threatening

Background: Lymphatic filariasis is a pervasive and life-threatening disease for human beings. Currently, 893 million people in 49 countries worldwide affected by lymphatic filariasis as per WHO statistics. The concealed aspects of lymphatic diseases such as delayed disease detection, inappropriate disease imaging, the geographical outbreak of infection, and lack of preventive chemotherapy have brought this epidemic to the edge of Neglected Tropical Diseases. Many medications and natural bioactive substances have seen to promote filaricidal activity against the target parasitic species. However, the majority of failures have occurred in pharmaceutical and pharmacokinetic issues. Objective: The purpose of the study is to focus on the challenges and therapeutic issues in the treatment of filariasis. The review brings novel techniques and therapeutic approaches for combating lymphatic filariasis. It also offers significant developments and opportunities for such therapeutic interventions. Conclusion: Through this review, an attempt has made to critically evaluate the avenues of innovative pharmaceuticals and molecular targeting approaches to bring an integrated solution to combat lymphatic filariasis.

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Non-compliance to Mass Drug Administration Associated with the Low Perception of the Community Members About their Susceptibility to Lymphatic Filariasis in Ankobra, Ghana

Infectious Disorders - Drug Targets ◽

10.2174/1871526519666190206210808 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (2) ◽

pp. 167-174

Author(s):

Ilo Dicko ◽

Yaya Ibrahim Coulibaly ◽

Modibo Sangaré ◽

Bismark Sarfo ◽

Priscillia Awo Nortey

Keyword(s):

Lymphatic Filariasis ◽

Drug Administration ◽

Mass Drug Administration ◽

Health Workers ◽

Compliance Rate ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Cluster Sampling ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Improve Compliance ◽

Degree Of Association

Background: Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is a parasitic disease that has been targeted for elimination through the Mass Drug Administration (MDA.) Although the MDA started in the Ankobra community in Ghana in 2000, LF prevalence as reported in 2014 was relatively high (4.5%). Non-compliance to the MDA has been associated with the persistent LF prevalence in endemic regions. Objective: This study determined the factors associated with the non-compliance to the MDA among patients living in the Ankobra community, Ghana. Methods: A cross-sectional study using a one-stage cluster sampling method was used to collect data between June and July, 2017 in Ankobra. Questionnaires were used to collect data from health workers, the MDA drug distributors and study participants in Ankobra. Data analysis was performed using STATA 14. Logistic regression was used to measure the degree of association between the dependent (non-compliance) and independent variables. Non-compliance rate was defined as the percentage of individuals who self-reported that they did not actually swallow the drugs provided during the MDA. Results: The MDA coverage and non-compliance rates were 73.5% (147/200) and 33.33% (49/147) respectively. The main reason for non-compliance was fear of drug adverse events (75.51%, 37/49). Thought of “not being susceptible to LF” was significantly associated with the non-compliance (aOR= 2.83, [CI= 1.15, 6.98]). Conclusion: Health education about the susceptibility of residents getting LF disease in endemic community must be intensified to improve compliance to MDA medication ingestion and thus meet the Global Elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis by 2020.

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