The results of the DeWorm3 program, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, were presented during a feedback meeting on April 26 at the Bénin Royal Hotel in Cotonou. In addition to the team that led the program (IRD, IRCB), were present, delegations from the National Program for the Fight against Communicable Diseases (PNLMT), the Comé health zone, USAID, WHO, from the Center for the Integrated Fight against Malaria, from various NGOs, etc.
This program aimed to test the possibility of interrupting the transmission of the three main soil-transmitted helminths (ascariasis, hookworm and trichocephalosis) through mass treatment (TDM) implemented at community level. WHO's current strategy is to disseminate this TDM to school-aged children in schools. The two strategies have been compared and the results are awaiting publication. If this new strategy proves effective, new recommendations could be formulated by the WHO and implemented by the PNLMT.
