Choosing the right MDA approach

In each district, choosing the most appropriate approach to mass drug administration (MDA) will help ensure the MDA teams achieve the high coverage target (≥ 80% of the population) needed for trachoma elimination.

As you watch this presentation consider the challenges to motivate and prevent attrition of community drug distributors.

Perspectives of a community health extension worker in Ethiopia who conducts azithromycin MDA for trachoma

“This was our second year of distribution, so all the log books were already filled, one page per family. In my team, we were three people, two volunteers to measure children and organise families, while I administered the drug and recorded the treatment.

After the sensitization my little team waited at crossroads in the community and treated families as they came to us. After three days of sitting in the busiest parts of the village, we used our log books to move from house to house, visiting those who had not come to us. We had a target of 1226 people to treat during the week. When a group assembles at a distribution point, I stop what I am doing and use it as an opportunity to provide health education for trachoma.”

Source: Women and trachoma. The Carter Center, 2009.