Rwanda has cut schistosomiasis prevalence to 2.4 per cent among school-age children, with 95.7 per cent of surveyed villages recording low infection levels, but officials say mass treatment alone will not end transmission.
At the country’s annual national stakeholders advocacy meeting on neglected tropical diseases and water, sanitation and hygiene integration, officials concluded that 1,013 administrative cells remain endemic and 13 hotspot villages still record schistosomiasis above 10 per cent. Prevalence of soil-transmitted intestinal worms stands at 38.7 per cent.
A 2023 assessment in Bugesera and Ruhango districts found that 60.5 per cent of households had never heard of bilharzia and 89.6 per cent lacked handwashing facilities with soap and water.
Dr Brian Chirombo, WHO representative in Rwanda, said the treatment-only approach has reached its limit. “Medicine alone will not help the community. Lasting success requires addressing underlying conditions that allow transmission to continue,” he said.
Bob Gakire, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Local Government, framed the remaining gap as an execution problem. “The remaining challenge is no longer simply clinical but operational,” he said, describing it as “a failure of communication, planning and coordination.”
Nooliet Kabanyana, executive director of the Rwanda NGOs Forum on AIDS and Health Promotion, called for sustained financing and stronger community engagement.
Why it matters: Rwanda is testing whether sanitation investment, not more drug rounds, is what finally closes out neglected tropical diseases.
Water, Sanitation & Hygiene in Africa: Health at Risk Access to clean water, proper sanitation, and good hygiene—often referred to as WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene)—is essential for good health and human dignity. Yet, millions of Africans still lack these basic necessities. According to…
Access to Clean Water and Sanitation in Africa Access to clean water and proper sanitation is a fundamental human right and a cornerstone of public health. Yet in Africa, millions of people still struggle to obtain safe drinking water and hygienic sanitation facilities.…
Cross River, USAID-RTI Joint Effort Makes Remarkable… In an extraordinary partnership, the Cross River State Government, in collaboration with USAID's Act to End Neglected Tropical Diseases/East (Act/East) program and Results for Development (R4D), has achieved a groundbreaking milestone in the fight against…
Silent Epidemic of Female Genital Schistosomiasis… In the midst of the rising prevalence of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) across Nigeria, Sightsavers Nigeria has sounded the alarm about a severe and little-known affliction: Female Genital Schistosomiasis (FGS). This silent but damaging disease…
