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Johnson & Johnson and Task Force for Child Survival and Development partner to decrease childhood morbidity due to soil-transmitted helminth infections
The Challenge
Globally, up to 1.2 billion people, a third of whom are children, are infected or at-risk of being infected with soil-transmitted helminths (STH), also known as intestinal worms. The populations most at risk of the disease are those living in the poorest tropical and subtropical countries of the world where the high humidity, warm soil, and inadequate sanitation support the life-cycle of the helminths.

This disease impacts children hardest because it causes malnutrition, increased susceptibility to other serious infections, and stunted growth. If children are not treated, the disease may lead to impaired cognitive development, reduced school attendance and performance, and ultimately, decreased productivity as adults. In severe cases, the disease can lead to death.

In 2001, the World Health Assembly passed a resolution to eliminate STH as a public health problem by ensuring access to single-dose deworming drugs for the regular treatment of high-risk groups, particularly school-aged children. The resolution also called for treatment to be complemented by the simultaneous implementation of plans for basic sanitation and adequate water supplies. For the most recent year with complete data, 2005, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that, fewer than 20 percent of children had been reached with deworming drugs. (Click here for WHO Weekly Epidemiological Record article.)

The Johnson & Johnson Donation
Recognizing that STH infections is a major public health problem for children and is compounded by limited access to effective treatment, particularly in the poorest countries, Johnson & Johnson has committed to donate mebendazole, a broad-spectrum anti-parasitic drug, for the treatment of infected and at-risk children. Johnson & Johnson partnered with the Task Force for Child Survival and Development (”The Task Force”) to develop a multi-disciplinary program to address the treatment and prevention of STH infections in this vulnerable population. In collaboration with the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical franchise that manufactures mebendazole, a total of 50 million doses are available for donation in 2007.

The Partnership
The Task Force for Child Survival and Development is a non-profit organization with over 20 years experience managing public-private partnerships and drug donation programs. The Task Force oversees the strategic, technical, and operational components of the program. An independent, authoritative body of experts called the Mebendazole Advisory Committee (MAC), advises the Task Force and Johnson & Johnson on technical and strategic aspects of the program, and recommends policies and procedures to ensure safe and effective use of the donated mebendazole.

The Task Force works together with partners, including governments of STH-endemic countries, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) the World Health Organization, the World Food Program and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), to achieve its vision and mission and objectives:

Vision
  • All the world’s children free of intestinal worms so they can grow, play, learn and enrich their communities.





 Mission
  1. Reduce and control the global burden of childhood STH infections through equitable access to the donation of quality mebendazole.
  2. Catalyze the development of effective strategies for the treatment, control and prevention of STH infections.
  3. Contribute to the empowerment of communities to achieve sustainable control of STH infections.
  4. Mobilize coalitions of partners at global, national and local levels for STH control.
Objectives
  1. Support recipient countries in reducing STH infections as a public health problem in accord with the 2001 resolution of the World Health Assembly by donating mebendazole to children in communities with the heaviest worm burden in order to reduce associated morbidities.
  2. Increase the use of effective partnerships in the control of STH infections at the country level.
  3. Encourage recipient countries to establish a comprehensive and sustainable STH control policy that combines mass treatment with the promotion of health behavior change and improvements in sanitation and safe water supplies.


Applications for Donated Mebendazole
To date, the MAC has approved donations for Bangladesh, Cameroon, and Uganda with other countries still under consideration. The allocation process for the remaining doses available for donation will be determined later this year. The program does not accept unsolicited requests.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Kim Koporc, MPH, MBA

Address:
750 Commerce Drive, Suite 400
Decatur, Georgia 30030
USA

phone: 1.404.687.5625
fax: 1.404.371.1087
email: kkoporc@taskforce.org
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