ABSTRACT

WHO, the World Bank, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the FAO, and other partners, launched the two major, successful, partnerships: the Onchocerciasis Control Programmes (OCP) in Western Africa as from 1974; and the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC) as from 1995. The effective use of ivermectin, provided free for as long as it will be needed, when and where it will be needed by Merck & Co., has been an essential element for the success of both programmes. Finally, the strategy of community-directed distribution and treatment is perhaps the most notable aspect of the programmes, by making the local community responsible for the implementation of the treatment of onchocerciasis, and more generally, as a practice for the prevention and treatment of other diseases through the training of non-medical local health assistants.