Prospects for the elimination of schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis: exploring disease trends through time at the Barombi crater lakes, South-West Cameroon

Achieving equity in UHC interventions: who is left behind by neglected tropical disease programmes in Cameroon?

Background: The UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which pledge to leave no one behind for Universal health coverage (UHC) raise the importance of ensuring equitable health outcomes and healthcare delivery. As Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) affect the most disadvantaged and hard to reach populations, they are considered a litmus test for Universal health coverage.Objective: Here, we assess the challenges of implementing Mass Drug Administrations (MDAs) for schistosomiasis prevention and control, in a context of expanded treatment where both community and school-based distribution were carried out, assessing which groups are missed and developing strategies to enhance equity.Methods: This is a qualitative study applying ethnographic observations, in-depth interviews (109) and focus group discussions (6) with key informants and other community members. Participants included community drug distributors, teachers, health workers, and implementing partners across four schistosomiasis endemic regions in Cameroon. Data collected were analysed thematically.Results: Programme implementation gaps have created circumstances where indigenous farmers (originally from the region) and migrating farmers (not originally from the region known as 'strangers' and 'farm hands'), women of reproductive age and school-aged children are continuously missed in MDA efforts in Cameroon. Key implementation challenges that limit access to MDA within this context include inadequate sensitization campaigns that don't sufficiently build trust with different groups; limits in CDD training around pregnancy and reproductive health; lack of alignment between distribution and community availability and the exclusion of existing formal and informal governance structures that have established trusting community relationships.Conclusion: Through identifying key populations missed in MDAs within specific contexts, we highlight how social inclusion and equity could be increased within the Cameroonian context. A main recommendation is to strengthen trust at the community level and work with established partnerships and local governance structures that can support sustainable solutions for more equitable MDA campaigns.

Advancing the multi-disciplinarity of parasitology within the British Society for Parasitology: studies of host-parasite evolution in an ever-changing world

The study of parasites typically crosses into other research disciplines and spans across diverse scales, from molecular- to populational-levels, notwithstanding promoting an understanding of parasites set within evolutionary time. Today, the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) help frame much of contemporary parasitological research, since parasites can be found in all ecosystems, blighting human, animal and plant health. In recognition of the multi-disciplinary nature of parasitological research, the 2017 Autumn Symposium of the British Society for Parasitology was held in London to provide a forum for novel exchange across medical, veterinary and wildlife fields of study. Whilst the meeting was devoted to the topic of parasitism, it sought to foster mutualism, the antithesis perhaps of parasitism, by forging new academic connections and social networks to exchange novel ideas. The meeting also celebrated the longstanding career of Professor David Rollinson, FLS in the award of the International Federation for Tropical Medicine Medal for his efforts spanning 40 years of parasitological research. Indeed, David has done so much to explore and promote the fascinating biology of parasitism, as exemplified by the 15 manuscripts contained within this Special Issue.