NEWS

DOLF Team Collaborates for Upcoming IDA Rollout in Indonesia

The DOLF team recently collaborated with the Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta and the Indonesian Ministry of Health to host a 1.5-day meeting in early February in Jakarta to discuss strategic planning for the upcoming rollout of IDA mass drug administration (MDA) in the country. The attendee list also included a representative of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and local experts from RTI International and WHO. Indonesia has the second largest population in Asia that could benefit from using IDA for MDA. Although the country has a long history with MDA for lymphatic filariasis using diethylcarbamazine alone or in combination with albendazole (DA), it has faced several challenges to achieving elimination. Some districts have made great progress, while others have struggled to achieve high compliance with MDA. Multiple rounds of MDA with high compliance are required with DA in order to achieve stopping targets as opposed to potentially only 1-2 rounds necessary with IDA.  Therefore, IDA could be a real game changer for LF elimination if implementation is conducted effectively. Ensuring acceptability of the drugs is a major component. Dr. Alison Krentel (Bruyere Research Institute, Canada) presented work she has done with other countries to strengthen the acceptability of IDA and helped to guide a workgroup through strategizing of social mobilization efforts and leveraging support in the community. Monitoring and evaluation and determination of MDA stopping decisions was also a major topic of discussion. Dr. Peter Fischer presented ideas for improving current TAS guidelines and group members convened to provide recommendations on baseline considerations and stopping targets.

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