China’s help with Zanzibar on schistosomiasis control reviewed in Wuxi

2020-05-22 16:42:00

A meeting was held on May 21 in Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province to summarize the successful experience of China’s aid project to control schistosomiasis in Zanzibar, Tanzania.

The technical cooperation project, which officially started in August 2016 and ended in February 2020, was undertaken by the Jiangsu Institute of Parasitic Diseases with funding from the Chinese government. Thirty people in six groups took turns every six months to carry out on-site work in Zanzibar Archipelago.

Thanks to the Chinese aid as well as the efforts of local technical personnel, the incidence of the disease in the project demonstration area dropped from 8.92 percent three years ago to the current 0.64 percent, and more than 90 percent of the local population is now more aware of schistosomiasis disease. A local technical team, after training, is armed with the first African schistosomiasis information management platform, helping bring the local public health system into being.

The meeting aimed to provide a reference for national health assistance to Africa, sort out a set of effective operating specifications, and consolidate the gains of China-Africa cooperation.