National deworming programmes rely on mass drug administration (MDA) to control schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths, two neglected tropical diseases endemic to Ethiopia. The World Health Organization recommends Treatment Coverage Validation surveys which are widely used by national programmes to gather data on MDA coverage. These surveys, however, rely on participant self-report of whether treatment was offered and if they complied with treatment.
The Geshiyaro project aims to interrupt the transmission of intestinal worms in Wolayita zone through MDA with a goal of 90% coverage of the zonal population. Individual identification will allow for more accurate coverage estimates, and help to understand if certain demographic groups are not receiving preventive chemotherapy during any given MDA round. Simprints is supporting the project by providing more reliable and accurate population-level treatment receipt verification through biometric identification.
The Geshiyaro evaluation team is now scaling up validation of the treatment coverage across 4 additional districts to reach up to 500,000 beneficiaries.