UDSM secures 10.6bn/- to fight Taeniasis/Neurocysticercosis 

UNIVERSITY of Dar es Salaam’s Mbeya College of Health and Allied Sciences (MCHAS) in collaboration with various partners has secured a project worth 4.2 million Euros (equivalent to 10.645 bn/-) to fight Taeniasis/Neurocysticercosis  (NCC) disease in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is a fatal zoonotic disease following ingestion of eggs of the pork tapeworm, Taenia solium.

The eggs develop to larval forms (cysticerci) in various tissues, including those of the central nervous system, leading to NCC, mainly characterised by epileptic seizures.

Although NCC management guidelines have been published by the World Health Organisation (WHO), it is indicated that their uptake in national policies is very limited.

A four-year project is funded by the European Commission and was slated to commence on April 1 this year.

In this project, MCHAS has partnered with other four institutions namely Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), Morogoro Tanzania, University of Zambia, Lusaka Zambia; Revolution worldwide srl – Impresa Sociale, Italy and Universiteit Ghent, Ghent Belgium.

Among the total budget for all five institutions, UDSM-MCHAS is 1.62 million Euros (equivalent to 4.105 bn/-).

Dr Bernard Ngowi and Dr Mkunde Chachage who are Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator respectively, said the project will include improving health outcomes of NCC patients, provide a blueprint for meaningful implementation research and demonstrate to policy makers how research can strengthen healthcare systems.

Dr Ngowi said they will demonstrate and promote a methodological approach for conducting health research that will lead to improve adoption into policy, clinical practice and validate the approach by investigating, evaluating and implementing an antiparasitic combination treatment and a serological test.

He said the two health innovations could make a major positive contribution to neurocysticercosis management.

Moreover, he said the project approach will include strengthening of clinical and research capacity through training and mentoring of early career researchers, clinicians and frontline healthcare workers as well as upgrading infrastructure for surveillance and control.

 Dr Ngowi also said they will evaluate the potential impact of serological testing on the patient outcomes and the wider health system through a simulation study and demonstrate the cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit of the proposed health technologies.

“The project would develop and validate an implementation strategy that addresses identified barriers for uptake using the robust implementation frameworks and enhance research results uptake into national and international guidelines and health policy through engagement of relevant policy makers throughout the project period and beyond,” said Dr Ngowi.