Mobilizing Communities for Mass Drug Administration: Lessons from Using the Social Mobilization NTD Toolkit in Five Countries

Mass drug administration (MDA) is an intervention that addresses certain neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Because people targeted for treatment as part of an MDA need to receive and ingest the treatment, they need to be informed, persuaded, and know how (and where) to receive treatment. Consequently, a strong social mobilization and communication component is a critical element of any MDA program.

This brief describes how NTD programs in Ethiopia, Cameroon, Guinea, Nigeria, and Uganda applied a social mobilization NTD toolkit to review, rationalize, and realign behavior change materials and strategies to ensure successful MDA.