Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Edinburgh visits delivery of treatment led by the Zanzibar Ministry of Health with funding from Unlimit Health

On 19^th September, a landmark ceremony was held in Zanzibar, attended by Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Edinburgh, to celebrate significant strides in eliminating neglected tropical disease (NTDs). The event marked the delivery of the 12 billionth dose of albendazole, a crucial treatment for lymphatic filariasis and intestinal worms.

The achievement has been made possible through contributions from numerous partners, including major drug donations by GSK and the World Health Organization (WHO). Unlimit Health’s long-standing collaboration with the Zanzibar’s Ministry of Health, has played a pivotal role in reducing the prevalence of schistosomiasis from 50% to under 2% of the population, bringing Zanzibar close to eliminating the disease as a public health concern.

Despite the overall progress, certain areas of Zanzibar still experience persistent infections, underscoring the need for ongoing treatments to safeguard these achievements. The event, organized by Uniting to Combat Against NTDs and Sightsavers, served as a celebration of the collective effort and partnerships that have driven this success.

During her speech, Wendy Harrison, Unlimit Health CEO referred to the changes in the global funding landscape for the delivery of treatment as a key challenge and added:

“We know that successful and sustainable neglected tropical diseases programmes are those where Ministries and communities have ownership of programmes, it is their decisions, made with a deep knowledge of the context that will ultimate lead to the achievement of elimination goals”.

As Zanzibar nears elimination of schistosomiasis, continued collaboration between local and international partners remains essential in the fight against NTDs.