- What begins with a parasitic infection spread by the bites
of black flies living near fast.
Flowing rivers can lead to onco psychiatrists known
as river blindness For centuries,
people living across Africa
and later Latin America are plagued by one
of the toughest diseases in history to overcome.
By the mid 1970s as river blindness ravaged outta control,
the Onco Schisis control program was formed to try
and put an end to the disease spearheaded
by the United Nations with bilateral funding agencies,
a campaign of intensive aerial larva society was rolled out
across West Africa.
However, the strategy proved
to be ineffective in rainforest areas, too costly
and was eventually abandoned.
It was in 1978 that Merck and Co Inc.
Scientist, Dr. William Campbell,
suggested a breakthrough treatment
for river blindness using a common anti parasitic
drug ivermectin.
Following successful clinical trials,
the human formulation was developed in 1987,
taken in a single dose once a year,
it alleviated the symptoms of the disease.
And so Meza was born.
Later that year, Merck made the unprecedented decision
to donate Meza as much as needed for as long as needed.
Becoming the first company in history.
To make a commitment to this scale, distributing millions
of treatments requires a complex infrastructure.
Non-governmental organizations, the OCP
and Local Ministries of Health, formed mobile teams
to distribute the medicine
to the most heavily affected areas.
In 1992, onco psis elimination program
for the Americas extended the reach
of Meza distribution to another continent.
By 1995, the World Health Organization, the World Bank
and the donor community formed the African program
for onco psis control to expand distribution
of meza across Africa, helping nations take ownership
of the control effort and join forces.
Armies of volunteers were trained under this
community led model.
Distribution of Meza rapidly scaled up The success
of mechan distribution for river blindness inspired efforts
to address another neglected tropical disease,
lymphatic psoriasis.
It was discovered that the combination of mechan
with another anti parasitic drug albendazole donated
by GSK proved to be highly effective in eliminating lf.
And so in 1988, the mandate of the Mear
and donation program was expanded to include both diseases.
All the hard work started to pay off in the Americas
as Columbia became the first country
to eliminate river blindness.
This remarkable achievement proved the disease can be
eliminated permanently.
Several countries in Africa,
and the Yemen soon follow suit when LF is also eliminated.
In 2021,
the World Health Organization launched a roadmap taking
what was a control program into a global effort
to eliminate transmission of both river blindness
and atic psoriasis amongst other diseases.
After 35 years, 4.8 billion treatments donated
and 25 countries protected.
Meck and Co Inc. CEO Rob Davis recently said of Meza,
we continue to make the commitment to provide meza free
as long as it's needed.
Only with sustained commitment
and growing partnerships can we hope
to finally break the chain of transmission so
that one day river blindness
and emphatic psoriasis can be diseases of the past.