East African Countries Launch Framework to Guide Kala-Azar Disease Elimination

NAIROBI, Xinhua: The Eastern African countries on Wednesday launched a comprehensive framework to guide health sector players in the elimination of visceral leishmaniasis, also known as kala-azar disease.

One of the leading neglected tropical diseases ravaging marginalized communities in the region, kala-azar is caused by a parasite and its symptoms include fever, weight loss, spleen, and liver enlargement.

The eastern African region accounted for 73 percent of global kala-azar cases in 2022, half of which occurred in children under 15 years old, the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi), a not-for-profit medical research organization, said in a statement issued in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.

The framework to guide the elimination of kala-azar was developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners, including the DNDi and ministries of health across the region.

It outlines five main strategies including early diagnosis and treatment, integrated vector management, effective surveillance, advocacy, social mobilization, partnerships, and research.

The framework calls for a 90 percent reduction in kala-azar burden in the eastern African region to fewer than 1,500 per year by 2030, detection and treatment of 90 percent of cases within the onset of symptoms by 2030, and a 100 percent decline in kala-azar deaths in children by 2030.

Other recommendations in the framework include putting the kala-azar patients infected with the AIDS virus on life-long medication alongside detection, reporting, and management of all post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis cases.

“The introduction of this new framework represents a significant step forward in our collective efforts to eliminate visceral leishmaniasis from Eastern Africa,” said Saurabh Jain, a scientist and focal point for visceral leishmaniasis at the WHO.

“By providing countries with tailored tools and strategies, we are laying a strong foundation for sustained progress in the fight against this neglected tropical disease,” Jain added.

Samuel Kariuki, the Eastern Africa director for the DNDi, said kala-azar is more pronounced among vulnerable groups, including children and the poor, hence the need to invest in new treatment regimens that are safe, affordable, and efficacious.