Being one of our first programmes, we’ve supported Zambia’s Ministry of Health for over a decade to enable the country to reach all at-risk school-age children. But with around half the population still requiring treatment for parasitic worm infections, there’s still work to be done. These incapacitating diseases impair child development and reduce school attendance by 25%.
key fActs
• Population: 16.2 million
• Percentage living in poverty: 54.4%
• Number requiring treatment for intestinal worm infections: 3.7 million*
• Number requiring treatment for schistosomiasis: 4.4 million*
programme information
• Programme start date: 2003
• Treatments delivered in FY17/18: 230,855^
• Numbers treated to date: 2,035,565^
• Programme coverage status: Scaling up to reach all at-risk school-age children^^
Photos
Footnotes:
* Data from WHO schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminth database.
^ For every treatment provided against schistosomiasis, treatments are also offered against intestinal worm infections where both diseases are present. Treatment numbers are for schistosomiasis only and dating from 2010 when the current reporting system was established. Numbers from January 2019.
^^ We support the programme in-line with the country’s strategic plan. As such, individuals other than school-age children may be treated.
