Equatorial Guinea
Country Overview
Equatorial Guinea has one of the largest disease burdens in the world. Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are rampant; many people are infected with several of these diseases simultaneously. Partly because of the high NTD burden, a remarkable 42.6% of children under five are stunted for their age. In each of the country’s 17 districts, there is a co-endemicity of at least three NTDs.
Control Efforts
Between 2000 and 2005, the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC) led efforts to eliminate the black flies which cause onchocerciasis in Bioko Island. Building on this success, with financial and technical support from APOC management, the re-launch of community-directed treatment in 2007 resulted in an improvement of treatment coverage up to 100% and 71.3% for geographic and therapeutic coverage, respectively.
Based on these achievements, APOC in collaboration with George Washington University and Exxon-Mobil undertook an integrated mapping for the control of major NTDs in mainland Equatorial Guinea, including onchocerciasis, lymphatic filariasis (LF), loiasis, schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths (STHs).
Remaining Gap
As surveillance and mapping efforts are completed, members on the ground have the necessary information to begin mass drug administration for NTD control. While treatment needs are high, the cost for treatment is extremely low; for less than $6 million, we can treat the entire population for NTDs. Click here to learn how you can contribute to the fight against NTDs in Equatorial Guinea.
