Integrating a gender, equity and human rights focus into national programming on preventive chemotherapy and transmission control for NTDs: A focus on Kwara State, Nigeria

The burden of NTDs is unequally distributed within Nigeria; increased vulnerability and exposure often mean that the poorest individuals and households are the most affected, particularly in rural settings. Although the distribution of preventive medicines through mass distribution mechanisms is free; social, cultural and economic factors interact to impact the effectiveness and equity of medicine coverage. Using qualitative methods with state and district health providers, community drug distributors (CDDs) and community members to explore their perceptions of the barriers and facilitators to effective treatment coverage and analysed these in terms of accessibility, availability, acceptability and contact coverage. These methods were applied in areas where there were particular challenges to the effective treatment coverage of mass distribution of medicines (based on programmatic treatment data), to support programme decision makers in improving equity in access to mass administration of medicines.