Quarterly Dose

Health programs aimed at children are increasingly relying on the infrastructure and personnel at schools to carry out simple health interventions like deworming and hygiene education. This makes sense because teachers are often the most informed people to determine the best time of year to carry out mass drug administration campaigns and the types of messages that resound with students of various ages. At CWW, we recognize the enormous contributions the education sector can make to STH control efforts. For this reason, we examine ways to collaborate and strengthen partnerships with Ministries of Education and their equivalents in our program countries. CWW has additional plans for building bridges with the education sector in the coming years.

This past October, the STH Advisory Committee, formerly the Mebendazole Advisory Committee, convened its 7th annual  meeting in Geneva. The meeting provided an opportunity for CWW and its partners in STH control to come together to focus on several important goals. First, to develop strategies that will enable countries to successfully use the combined 600 million doses of deworming drugs that Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) will donate annually. Second, to explore CWW’s role in supporting a comprehensive control strategy for STH through engagement with the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and education sectors. A highlight at the meeting’s close was recognition of the accomplishments of outgoing committee chair Mr. Ibrahim Jabr, and welcoming of incoming chair Dr. Susan Zimicki.

Children Without Worms (CWW) recently welcomed Dr. David Addiss, MD, MPH, as its new Director. Dr. Addiss, who possesses a strong background working in neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), joins the program at an exciting time for CWW and for control of soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH) as a public health problem. CWW has received commitments for scaled up donations of mebendazole from Johnson & Johnson and albendazole from GlaxoSmithKline, new countries have been invited to receive these donations, and the STH Control Committee has also welcomed new leadership.

Cassandra Holloway joined CWW this past February and took on a critical role for the program—ensuring that the donations of mebendazole reach recipient countries in time for scheduled mass drug administration campaigns (MDAs). Logistics coordination has become increasingly important as new recipient countries join the program and the number of donated doses increases. Fortunately, Cassandra’s ability to see the big picture along with her data management skills have helped CWW address the program’s growing demands in this area.

Increased donations of deworming medication have given us the opportunity to work with our partners to make unprecedented inroads into reducing morbidity from STH infections. Learn more about these new opportunities for collaboration with our partners. We're also excited to introduce you to our new Senior Program Associate, Kerry Gallo.