02465nas a2200337 4500000000100000008004100001260001600042653002400058653002700082653002100109100001400130700001300144700001100157700001600168700001500184700001500199700001500214700001700229700001300246700001300259700001300272700001400285700001700299700001200316700001400328700001700342245013500359856015300494520146600647022001402113 2021 d bElsevier BV10aInfectious Diseases10aMicrobiology (medical)10aGeneral Medicine1 aSangare M1 aBerthe A1 aDolo H1 aDiabaté AF1 aKonipo FDN1 aSoumaoro L1 aDoumbia SS1 aCoulibaly ME1 aDiarra L1 aSanogo Y1 aAtsou KM1 aDiallo AA1 aCoulibaly SY1 aKeita M1 aDoumbia S1 aCoulibaly YI00aEvaluation of mass drug administration for schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths in school-aged children in Bankass, Mali uhttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1201971221006950/pdfft?md5=9268f3aacf4f682a5657153bc6bc81a4&pid=1-s2.0-S1201971221006950-main.pdf3 aBackground
Mali has implemented mass drug administration (MDA) since 2004 aimed to control schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths. Despite several round of MDA, the health district of Bankass reported low coverage (64.8%) for praziquantel and albendazole in 2017 meaning this district is still facing challenges to accomplish the targeted 75% coverage. We aimed to explore the barriers and gaps that hinder the MDA implementation in Bankass.

Methods
We did a cross-sectional study. Questionnaires were administrated to all school-aged children in randomly selected villages. Technical directors of community health centers and community drug distributors in the selected villages were included in the interviews.

Results
We interviewed 2128 children and 52 health workers. Coverage rates were 93.51% (1990/2128) for praziquantel and 95.25% (2027/2128) for albendazole. Among the untreated children, 31.63% (31/98) reported not being aware of the campaign and 26.53% (26/98) were unable to reach the distribution points. Most of the health workers suggested to increase incentives.

Conclusion
Our data shows satisfactory coverage above 90% in contrast with lower rates initially reported by the district health information system. These results raise concerns about the reliability of programmatic data and highlight the importance population-based surveys for the evaluation of control interventions. a1201-9712