The link between de-worming and universal health coverage

Since we started over 20 years ago, we have been supporting ministries of health to deliver treatment to people affected by parasitic diseases through mass deworming campaigns.

Parasitic diseases affect the most marginalised communities, often in remote and difficult to access locations with poor or dispersed health infrastructure. Mass deworming campaigns are one way to guarantee the right of all people to live a healthy life.

This is entrenched in the principle of universal health coverage (UHC), which according to the World Health Organization (WHO) definition means that all people have access to the full range of quality health services they need, when and where they need them, without financial hardship.

Deworming campaigns are implemented to plug the gap in the absence of or where the healthcare system has insufficient capacity.

As it is articulated in our strategy and in the WHO roadmap for elimination of neglected tropical diseases, our ambition is to end parasitic diseases. In many countries, diseases like schistosomiasis are near elimination.

To achieve this, it is important that mass deworming campaigns are continued to maintain progress towards reaching elimination and keeping the amount of disease low in communities. 

In this interactive story, we highlight how donations to our deworming work not only contribute towards the goal of eliminating parasitic diseases by 2030, but are also critical for realising UHC.