Overview
Preventive chemotherapy (PC) is defined as the largescale distribution of safe, quality-assured medicines,
either alone or in combination, at regular intervals, to
entire population groups through community- and
school-based interventions. WHO recommends PC
against 5 neglected tropical diseases (NTDs): lymphatic
filariasis (LF), onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis,
soil-transmitted helminthiases (STH) and trachoma,
which are the subject of this report. PC is also used
against other NTDs, including foodborne trematodiases, taeniasis and yaws, for which the PC approach is
currently applied on a much smaller scale; reported
data are still fragmented and are not included in this
report. Other interventions (individual disease management, vector control, veterinary public health and water,
sanitation and hygiene) may also be required for the
control, elimination and eradication of these NTDs.
WHO Member States submit reports relevant to the
diseases targeted with PC using PC Joint Application
Package which helps to facilitate the process of application for medicines, review and reporting on interventions, as well as to improve coordination and integration among different programmes.
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