Although the local swimming hole provides enjoyment to this Nigerian child, it also is the site of transmission of schistosomiasis, a parasitic disease transmitted by water snails.

Largest Initiative in Nigeria
The Carter Center-assisted program is the largest initiative in Nigeria, providing health education and schistosomiasis treatment to communities in four states — Plateau, Delta, Edo, and Nasarawa — where the burden of the disease is greatest.

As of 2011, the program has assisted in more than 6 million cumulative praziquantel treatments (provisional), which have been distributed primarily to children since 1999. The vast majority of these treatments were distributed during 2008-2011 alone, through a dramatic scaleup of activities made possible through a donation to the Center from the World Health Organization and Merck KGaA (Germany). Through generous contributions of many additional partners, The Carter Center has continued to deliver treatments to more than 1 million people (mostly children) annually in program areas.

As a result of these efforts, millions of Nigerians are now benefiting from schistosomiasis treatment. For example, blood in schoolchildren's urine — a telltale sign of schistosomiasis infection — has been reduced by approximately 94 percent in Plateau and Nasarawa states and approximately 88 percent in Delta state, illustrating that the disease can be controlled with cost-effective efforts. 
 
Program Integration

The Carter Center has pioneered the concept of integrating interventions against schistosomiasis with lymphatic filariasis and river blindness interventions þ when those diseases occur in the same communities — to help state ministry of health programs reach communities more efficiently.

The success of the joint programs has demonstrated that one community-based health education and drug distribution system can support the control and elimination of multiple diseases. Read more about disease program integration >