Eliminating guinea worm disease

Description

Eliminating guinea worm disease involves interrupting transmission by ensuring access to safe drinking water, promoting health education, and implementing community-based surveillance to detect and contain cases. The strategy focuses on filtering water, treating sources, and immediate case management to prevent parasite spread. Practical actions include distributing filters, applying larvicides, and training local volunteers, aiming to eradicate the disease by breaking its life cycle and addressing the root causes of infection.

Context

The aim is to eliminate Guinea worm disease (dracunculiasis) by the year 2000.

Implementation

This strategy features in the framework of Agenda 21 as formulated at UNCED (Rio de Janeiro, 1992), now coordinated by the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development and implemented through national and local authorities.

Guinea worm disease, which is acquired by drinking infected water and brings months of debilitating pain to victims, has been reduced by about 80 percent in the last five years. Surveys in 1989 found just under 1 million confirmed cases in 16 African nations and in parts of India and Pakistan. The latest 1993 surveys have found just over 200,000. Every country with a guinea worm problem has now undertaken village-by-village surveys. In total, 22,000 villages have been covered, and two thirds of those have subsequently taken steps to break the cycle of infection. Some of the most successful countries in reducing Guinea worm disease incidence between 1988 and 1993 include: Nigeria (from 653,000 down to 76,000 cases); Ghana (from 180,000 down to 18,000 cases); India (from 31,000 down to 800 cases); Pakistan (from 1,100 down to 2 cases).