International research collaboration to uncover why schistosomiasis in Africa persists in some areas despite decades of treatment

A major new international project has been launched to better understand why schistosomiasis, a neglected tropical disease (NTD), continues to affect millions of people across Africa despite more than two decades of large-scale treatment programmes. 

Schistosomiasis, caused by parasitic worms, remains one of the most widespread NTDs, disproportionately affecting children and communities with limited access to safe water and sanitation. 

Funded by the Wellcome Trust, this £8.1 million 5-year project, called DRIVERS¹, is led by the University of Glasgow and brings together a consortium² of partners from Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Malawi and the UK. The collaboration includes experts in epidemiology, immunology, genetics, and mathematical modelling, alongside national schistosomiasis control programme managers and regional health ministries. 

By uncovering the reasons behind why the disease persists in some areas despite regular mass treatment, DRIVERS aims to generate evidence-based recommendations to improve disease control. 

Unlimit Health is contributing scientific oversight to the project, with Dr Fiona Fleming, our Director of Research and Innovation, serving as a co-investigator. The organisation’s longstanding collaborations with the ministries of health in Côte d’Ivoire and Malawi, as well as its recent support for national impact assessments, will help inform the optimal study sites for data collection. Later in the project, Unlimit Health will also play a central role in expert programme and intervention processes to translate the project’s evidence into policy.  

“This research has the potential to be transformative at a basic research level, but also from a public health perspective. It provides an urgently needed evidence base to inform national control programme guidance and progress towards ambitious World Health Organization goals.”

Dr Fiona Fleming
Director of Research and Innovation, Unlimit Health

Through detailed field studies, the project aims to investigate the factors driving poor treatment outcomes at both individual and community levels, including reduced drug efficacy and rapid reinfection. By collecting and analysing fine-scale data from Côte d’Ivoire and Malawi, DRIVERS hopes to refine understanding of the links between worm burden, parasite egg counts and transmission dynamics. These insights will inform improved transmission models, enabling better prediction of the impact of targeted treatment strategies and accelerating efforts to control the disease. 

Notes: 

1. Identifying drivers of schistosomiasis treatment failure and recommendations for treatment strategies.

2. Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques in Côte d’Ivoire, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Research Programme in Malawi, Institute of Medical Research and Medicinal Plant Studies in Cameroon, University of Surrey, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of Dundee, the University of Glasgow, Unlimit Health, policy makers and Ministry of Health partners.