Health Programs

Onchocerciasis Elimination Program of the Americas
 
Headquartered in Guatemala, the Onchocerciasis Elimination Program of the Americas (OEPA) is the technical and coordinating body of a multinational, multiagency coalition working to end illness and transmission of onchocerciasis in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Venezuela.
 
The Carter Center is the sponsoring agency for OEPA, whose partnership includes the ministries of health of the six affected countries in Latin America, the Pan American Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, academic institutions, and independent organizations.
 
In the Americas, 500,000 people are at risk for onchocerciasis, or river blindness,  and 180,000 are infected in endemic nations. Diverse populations and ecosystems are affected by river blindness. In Guatemala and Mexico, the mestizo and indigenous populations who live on coffee plantations are the most at risk; while in Ecuador and Colombia, the disease affects those populations living by rivers' shores, primarily people of African and indigenous descent. The nomadic Yanomami population, living in Brazil and Venezuela, is one of the most severely affected groups because their travel throughout the Amazon rainforest places them at continuous risk for exposure.
 
Treating 85 percent or more of infected people in the Americas with twice annual doses of Mectizan not only improves the health of those infected, but also quickly halts transmission by reducing the presence of microfilariae.  Before OEPA started operations in 1992, only 41,911 treatments of Mectizan were administered throughout Latin America, vastly under serving the populations at risk. However, program efforts have increased distribution considerably.
 
One of the major milestones in the future achievement of the goal of elimination occurred in 2003 when, for the first time ever, all endemic countries reached the necessary treatment coverage of at least 85 percent. Since 2003, these six countries have maintained at least 85 percent treatment coverage, which must be sustained to halt transmission by the end of the decade. Additionally since treatment goals have been reached, there has been no new blindness from river blindness, and six of the 13 endemic areas have likely interrupted transmission.
 
In the fall of 2003, the Carter Center's River Blindness Program estimated it would take approximately $15 million to eliminate river blindness disease from the Americas by the end of this decade. To meet this goal the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation made an initial $5 million contribution and challenged other donors to provide an additional $5 million, of which the Gates Foundation would match one-to-one. With support from the Lions Clubs International Foundation, Merck & Co. Inc., and more than 70 other donors, the matching funds were raised four years ahead of the challenge grant deadline.
 
Thanks to these achievements, the Americas will soon free themselves from the threat of this debilitating disease.

Oct. 7,  2008
Pan American Health Organization Passes Resolution to Interrupt Transmission of River Blindness in Latin America by 2012
In an effort to eliminate river blindness (onchocerciasis) from the Western Hemisphere, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) issued an urgent call to interrupt the disease's transmission by 2012.