Intestinal Worms: African Experts Learn From Chinese Experience

The second China-Africa meeting on schistosomiasis elimination and training in malacology opened in Yaounde on October 24, 2016. 

Africa bears more than 90 per cent of the global burden of Schistosomiasis, commonly known as Bilharzia. This has great economic impact and constitutes a serious public health problem in most African countries. In spite of the challenges faced by Africa in overcoming 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 on October 24, 2016.  

Speaking at the opening, the Secretary General in the Ministry of Public Health, Prof. Koula Shiro Sinata, said government was strongly engaged to overcome Schistosomiasis and other Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). She said even though significant progress has been made in scaling up NTD control, much still needs to be done. Focus on this year’s meeting will be on training in malacology and the use of mollusicides to eliminate snails, which are vectors of intestinal worms and NTDs.

For one week, participants from 10 African count...