Integrating NTD control into community-based healthcare in Central African Republic

A pilot project to diagnose and treat Human African Trypanossomiasis (HAT) recently began in Batangafo and Kabo Districts, Central African Republic. Community health workers, health care providers and traditional practitioners from local areas were trained to carry out the testing, which forms part of the community health strategy for the Ministry of Health.
 
During the first round 51 people tested positive out of the 647 tests administered. Positive cases are referred to the nearest hospital to confirm the diagnosis and provide the appropriate treatment.
 
Training community health workers to test for HAT is a simple and reliable way to expand life-saving healthcare to communities with limited access to health services, particularly for those in the most remote and hard to reach locations:
 
“Supporting community health workers in Central African Republic is meeting the critical health needs of people who have been displaced and affected by violence and conflict in the country. Through supporting this pilot MENTOR is helping to lead the way in integrating neglected tropical disease work into community-based healthcare activities.
 
Including HAT diagnoses to what community health workers already deliver in terms of diagnosing and treating diseases such as malaria and diarrhoea as well as malnutrition, increases their capacity to provide care in the most challenging conditions.” – Karbore Issake Eloi, MENTOR Base Coordinator.
 
HAT, also known as sleeping sickness, is a vector-borne parasitic disease transmitted by tsetse flies. It is often asymptomatic until later stages when severe complications develop, at which stage survival rates are very low. Tackling HAT in Central African Republic is essential to ensure the country moves closer to meeting the WHO roadmap for neglected tropical diseases 2030 goals.
 
Support for this project was provided through funding from The Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics.