De-worming Programs

The World Health Organization estimates that intestinal parasitic diseases caused by helminths chronically affect about one-third of the world’s population, often most prevalent in the poorest communities and in children. Chronic intestinal worm infection during childhood has negative effects on growth, nutrition and school performance. It is estimated that parasitic worms consume as much as 25% of what an infected child ingests!

These effects are readily reversible by a simple treatment given twice yearly in schools, clinics, community centers and through other private and public distribution networks. Antihelmintic medicines can be given in a single dose treatment once every six months; are free from toxicity, inexpensive, and very efficient. Administration of this medication can be handled by non-medical personnel, such as teachers and community leaders. A World Bank review concluded that large-scale, mass treatments of single-dose de-worming medication represents an important and cost effective health strategy.

The joint World Health Organization/UNICEF publication, Management of Childhood Illness, recommends 500mg of Mebendazole or 400mg of Albendazole as a single dose treatment for children two years of age or older, with parasitic infestation or at risk of infestation, and children suffering from malnutrition and anaemia. MedPharm manufactures a chewable 500mg tablet, thereby facilitating single dose treatments. Through MedPharm, the annual cost to treat a worm-infested child is reduced.

MedPharm A World Leader in Deworming Programs

Starting in 1996, MedPharm cooperated with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Ministries of Health and a group of international and local NGOs to initiate a joint de-worming program in four countries of Central America. MedPharm supplied the de-worming medicines to treat annually over 1.5 million children. MedPharm next extended the program to cover over two million infested children under UN sponsored programs in South America.

Since the inception of the programs in the Americas, MedPharm has expanded the coverage of its deworming programs worldwide. For its worldwide programs, MedPharm contract manufactures under the MedPharm label the two leading and WHO-recommended de-worming medications, single-dose albendazole 400mg and mebendazole 500mg, in Europe to the highest GMP and EP standards. In 2003 and 2004, MedPharm supplied more than 27 million doses of albendazole 400mg and mebendazole 500mg to treat 13.5 million children in NGO and UN, MOH and MOE sponsored programs in Central and South America, Africa, Middle East and Far East.

MedPharm is deeply committed to attacking this worldwide problem. The World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva, estimates that 2 billion persons or one-third the world’s populations are infected with common intestinal worms (also known as soil-transmitted helminth, STH infections) of which 800 million are school-aged children and that 150,000 children are estimated to die every year The WHO has recently created a global initiative, the Partners for Parasite Control (PCC) made up of WHO’s Member States, UN agencies, and representatives of research institutes, universities, the pharmaceutical industry, and NGOs. MedPharm is the lead pharmaceutical company in this effort and under the PPC program provides more deworming medication than any other company worldwide.

Schistosomiasis

The Schistosomiasis Control Initiative (SCI), in line with the World Health Organization’s resolution, encourages treatment of schistosomiasis in sub-Saharan Africa by targeting those at high risk of developing severe morbidity, especially school-aged children, women and those in high risk occupations. The SCI's major funding partner is the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which provided a grant of $30 million to the Imperial College London in support of the SCI program. The other major operational partners are the Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Imperial College London; the Harvard Center for Population & Development Studies; MedPharm and the World Health Organization. In June 2004, SCI awarded MedPharm the winning bid in the international tender for the supply of praziquantel 600mg. As a result, MedPharm will supply in 2004 and 2005 the full tender requirements of 13.7 million tabs of praziquantel 600mg to the six targeted countries in the SCI program, 3 countries in East Africa and 3 countries in West Africa.

MedPharm manufactures the two leading broad spectrum anthelmintics (deworming medications), Mebendazole and Albendazole. MedPharm provides the PAHO, WFP, UNDP, PVO and MOH sponsored programs MedPharm also provides a wide range of pharmaceuticals including all of the essential drugs on the WHO Essential Drug list plus vitamins and supplements.

MedPharm is a member of the new WHO Initiative, Partner for Parasite Control (PPC) mandated to address worldwide over the next ten years the health and development problems of schitosomiasis and intestinal parasites and to initiate interventions and support long-term programs specifically tailored to treat those infected by these debilitating diseases.

• For U.N., Bilateral and NGO organizations sponsoring school programs, there is a 25% loss on the investment of food aid due to intestinal parasites which can be cured at a low cost.
• School based de-worming programs compared favorably in cost-effectiveness with DPT/Polio immunization.
• World Bank concluded that large-scale mass treatments of single dose de-worming medication could represent an important and cost-effective health strategy.
• While a few years ago the annual costs to treat worm infested children ranged from $2.00 to $3.00, the annual costs are now dramatically reduced to pennies per year per child treated.
• Through MedPharm, the annual costs of treatment are reduced to as low as 9 cents per child per year with two treatments of mebendazole and 10 cents with two treatments of albendazole.