Schistosomiases: African Experts Learn From Chinese Experience

The second China-Africa Meeting on Schistosomiases elimination and training in Malacology opened in Yaounde yesterday October 24, 2016. 

The African Region bears more than 90 per cent of the global burden of Schistosomiases commonly known as Bilharzias. This has a great economic impact and constitutes a serious public health problem in the majority of African countries. In spite of the challenges faced by African governments to overcome the impact of the disease, there is increasing momentum for its elimination. It is in this light that the second China-Africa Meeting on Schistosomiasis and Training in Malacology opened in Yaounde yesterday October 24, 2016.  

Speaking at the opening, the Secretary General in the Ministry of Public Health, Professor Koula Shiro Sinata said the government of Cameroon is strongly engaged to overcome Schistosomiases and other neglected tropical diseases (NTD). She said even though significant progress has been made in scaling up NTD control intervention in Cameroon, much still needs to be done in the domain. She called on participants to work hard during the training to share their knowledge and experiences of their countries and institutions and to improve their knowledge in Malacology and use of molluscides for snail control.

Focus on this year’s meeting will be on the training course on malacology and the use of mo...