The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has officially launched its 2026 Integrated Mass Drug Administration (MDA) Campaign aimed at eliminating three major Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs): Onchocerciasis (River Blindness), Lymphatic Filariasis (Elephantiasis), and Schistosomiasis (Bilharzia).
The nationwide public health intervention, scheduled to run from June 20 to July 3, 2026, will involve the distribution of safe and effective medicines in affected communities across the country. It forms part of efforts to eliminate the diseases as public health threats by 2030.
Speaking at the launch, the Director of the Public Health Division of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr. Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe, described the campaign as a significant milestone in the country’s disease elimination agenda.
He stressed the importance of media support in educating the public, mobilising communities, and encouraging widespread participation in the exercise.
Officially launching the campaign, the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr. Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, noted that although the targeted diseases are preventable and treatable, they continue to cause disability, social stigma, and economic hardship for many affected families.
He said the campaign would target approximately 6.7 million people across 86 districts in 15 regions for the treatment and prevention of river blindness.
For lymphatic filariasis, commonly known as elephantiasis, Dr. Akoriyea revealed that transmission has already been interrupted in 114 of the country’s 117 endemic districts.
He said this year’s intervention would focus on the remaining two endemic districts, with about 266,000 people expected to benefit.
To combat bilharzia, community deworming exercises will be conducted in 13 districts across eight regions, targeting more than one million people.
The initiative will be complemented by measures to improve water, sanitation, hygiene and environmental management.
Representatives of international and local health partners also pledged their continued support for the campaign.
The World Health Organization (WHO) highlighted mass drug administration and school-based deworming programmes as proven strategies for reducing the long-term health effects of neglected tropical diseases.
Meanwhile, Sightsavers commended Ghana for its achievements in the fight against NTDs, noting that trachoma has been eliminated as a public health problem and cases of river blindness have significantly declined.
Medicines Development for Global Health (MDGH) also praised Ghana’s efforts, describing the country as a global leader in NTD control and the first to implement moxidectin, a newly developed medicine designed to accelerate the elimination of river blindness.
Health authorities are urging residents in affected communities to fully participate in the campaign to help Ghana achieve its goal of eliminating neglected tropical diseases by 2030.
