Borlase A, Rutte EA, Castaño S, Blok D, Toor J, Giardina F, Davis EL, Aliee M, Anderson RM, Ayabina D, Basáñez M, Blumberg S, Rivera RMC, Chitnis N, Coffeng LE, Davis CN, Deiner M, Diggle PJ, Fronterrè C, Giorgi E, Graham M, Hamley JID, Hollingsworth TD, Keeling MJ, Kura K, Lietman TM, Malizia V, Medley GF, Michael E, Thumbi SM, Mutono N, Porco T, Prada JM, Rock KS, Sharma S, Spencer S, Stolk WA, Touloupou P, Vasconcelos A, Vegvari C, de Vlas SJ (2022).Evaluating and mitigating the potential indirect effect of COVID-19 on control programmes for seven neglected tropical diseases: a modelling study. The Lancet Global Health. 10(11). https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(22)00360-6
Background
In line with movement restrictions and physical distancing essential for the control of the COVID-19 pandemic, WHO recommended postponement of all neglected tropical disease (NTD) control activities that involve community-based surveys, active case finding, and mass drug administration in April, 2020. Following revised guidance later in 2020, and after interruptions to NTD programmes of varying lengths, NTD programmes gradually restarted in the context of an ongoing pandemic. However, ongoing challenges and service gaps have been reported. This study aimed to evaluate the potential effect of the programmatic interruptions and strategies to mitigate this effect.