01887nas a2200205   4500000000100000008004100001653001900042653003200061653002500093653005300118653000900171653001100180100001400191245005900205856007600264300001000340490000600350520131100356022001401667       2016                            d10aonchocerciasis10aNeglected Tropical Diseases10aLymphatic filariasis10aExpanded Special Project for Elimination of NTDs10aAPOC10aAfrica1 aHopkins A00aNeglected tropical diseases in Africa: a new paradigm.  uhttp://inthealth.oxfordjournals.org/content/8/suppl_1/i28.full.pdf+html  a28-330 v83 a<p>Programmes to control onchocerciasis have been ongoing for over 40 years. What was once a devastating blinding and disabling disease, particularly in West Africa, has largely been eliminated at least as a public health problem. Efforts continue to eliminate the transmission of the disease. However, as the elimination agenda has developed so have efforts to control/eliminate other neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). The African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control will close at the end of 2015. There has been considerable discussion as to what should replace it and the World Health Organization Africa Region has been consulting widely during the first part of 2015 and has established a new project framework that will be presented to a wider group of stakeholders to mobilise support with the aim of the coordination of NTD activities in the region. This will be called the Expanded Special Project for Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases (ESPEN). This will put the countries in the driving seat but offer technical advice, capacity building and financial support, where needed, to enable countries to implement their NTD Master Plans, and also to implement recommendations of the Regional Programme Review Group. An NTD forum will be held periodically to consult with stakeholders.</p>
  a1876-3413