By Anthony Bugembe

AFRICAN health ministers are to petition the African Union (AU) to ask drug manufacturers to donate praziquantel, a drug, to treat urinary bilharzia among children.

Bilharzia, according to the ministers, is adversely affecting African economies. Without addressing the diseases, Africa may not be able to achieve the millennium development goals. Other diseases in this group are river blindness, intestinal worms, trachoma and elephantiasis.

The ministers made the resolution yesterday during the 14th session of the Joint Action Forum on Onchocerciasis (river blindness) control in Africa at the Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala.

Dr. Uche Amazigo, the director of the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC) said: “Hundreds of our children are urinating blood and are out of school because of bilharzia.

Unfortunately, most of the victims are from poor families which cannot afford drugs like praziquantel.

Bilharzia infection results from contact with contaminated water. The parasite swims freely in open water bodies.

The disease is common in many tropical and sub-tropical areas worldwide, where it affects more than 200 million people.

The symptoms of urinary bilharzia include frequent urination, painful urination and blood in the urine.
The delegates asked countries like Germany where praziquantel is manufactured to think of donating the drug to the endemic countries on the continent.

They asked Germany to borrow a leaf from USA which, through several development partners like USAID and Merck Company, provides free ivermectin for the treatment of river blindness in many African countries.

Uganda’s health minister, Dr. Stephen Mallinga, said if by 2015,

no extra initiative has been taken, the continent will lose the gains registered in ensuring that neglected tropical diseases cease to be a public health and socio-economic problem.