The lymphatic filariasis elimination program in Bangladesh: an exportable model?
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The lymphatic filariasis elimination program in Bangladesh: an exportable model? In 1971, at the end of the bloodstained separation war with Pakistan, Bangladesh appeared as a country without hope. The intense spopulation growth –one of the highest in the world– natural disasters such as flooding and typhoons, acute and diffuse poverty– with a percentage of population below poverty line of 30% –the internal political scenario, with social instability and underlyin gethnical conflicts– made this situation less likely to improve. 40 years later, Bangladesh succeeded in disproving such prevision, with a significant growth in economic development, public healthcare and social conditions. Birth control, countermeasures against “big killers” such as (TBC)1 tuberculosis and diarrhea in babies, improvement of hygienic conditions and the implementation of local emergency units (community-clinic), effective sanitary campaigns and prevention of endemic diseases have been accomplishedthanks to the coordinated use of sanitary measures in international programs. Results obtained through a sanitary policy based on fruitful collaborations among the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, NGOs, international health organizations, international institutions and foundations. This way Bangladesh achieved the result of an almost total elimination of neglected endemic disease in the country (visceral leishmaniosis, lymphatic filariasis, dengue, plague, and intestinal parasitizes helminth infections). The article analyses the factors contributing to the success of the Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination Program. The study of such factors permitted to identify a governance model for fighting neglected diseases in endemic regions with similar geo-political environments.
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