01489nas a2200193   4500000000100000008004100001653003100042653002900073653002400102100000900126700001500135700001300150245006600163856017100229300001200400490000700412520086300419022001301282       2016                            d10aSoil-transmitted helminths10aMass drug administration10aAccess to treatment1 aLo N1 aAndrews JR1 aBogoch I00aImproving helminth treatment access: costs and opportunities.  uhttp://ac.els-cdn.com/S1473309916300494/1-s2.0-S1473309916300494-main.pdf?_tid=99ee20cc-3e0a-11e6-9f5e-00000aacb35e&acdnat=1467212773_1d3dd58a5bbf57e9392b6f2e9f32e22a  a762-7640 v163 a<p>Soil-transmitted helminths affect about 1·5 billion people living in the world's poorest regions. The main public health strategy for morbidity control is mass drug administration (MDA; also referred to as preventive chemotherapy), which is the widespread empirical treatment of populations, traditionally school-aged children. WHO set a goal of achieving 75% coverage of at-risk populations by 2020, but estimates from 2014 suggest only 47% global coverage of children. To reach the WHO 2020 goal, opportunities must be taken to find cost efficiencies, collaborate across health sectors, and improve measurement of the costs and effects of MDA programmes. The substantial gap in target coverage for treatment of soil-transmitted helminths poses a great challenge, but an even greater opportunity to address the global burden from these infections.</p>
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