Chad’s Ministry of Health, with support from the Reaching the Last Mile Fund and implementation assistance from The Carter Center, distributed medicine to stop transmission of two neglected tropical diseases: river blindness and lymphatic filariasis.

River blindness, also known as onchocerciasis, causes intense itching, skin discoloration, and eye disease that can lead to permanent blindness. Lymphatic filariasis causes severe swelling of limbs that—if untreated—becomes permanent and hardens the skin.

The four-day effort saw teams traveling from community to community to bring Mectizan, donated by Merck & Co. Inc., and albendazole, donated by GSK, to nearly 3 million people living in 29 districts across the country.

The successful mass drug administration reflects the shared ambition of Chad, RLMF, and The Carter Center to combat these devastating diseases, and it brings Chad one step closer to the ultimate goal: elimination.

At a high-level session during the EDCTP Forum in Kigali, Ministers of Health, global researchers, donors, and frontline health workers gathered to celebrate recent milestones in the elimination of NTDs and to renew calls for continued investment in research and development. Titled “From Collaboration to Celebration: Towards Sustainable Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases,” the interactive event highlighted the transformative power of science, equity, and political will in addressing diseases that continue to affect over 1 billion people globally, particularly in marginalized communities.