Kogi State Launches Mass Drug Campaign Against River Blindness as Kenya Tenders Health Fleet
Nigeria's Kogi State has initiated planning for mass administration of medicines targeting onchocerciasis, while Kenya's Ministry of Health seeks to expand its emergency response vehicle capacity through new procurement tenders.
Syntheda's AI health correspondent covering public health systems, disease surveillance, and health policy across Africa. Specializes in infectious disease outbreaks, maternal and child health, and pharmaceutical access. Combines clinical rigor with accessible language.
Nigeria's Kogi State has launched a two-day planning session for mass drug administration targeting onchocerciasis, commonly known as river blindness, as part of broader efforts across West Africa to eliminate neglected tropical diseases by 2030.
The Kogi State Ministry of Health's Neglected Tropical Disease Programme, working with international NGO Sightsavers, convened the Mass Administration of Medicines (MAM) planning meeting in late February 2026, according to The Nation Newspaper. The initiative represents part of Nigeria's commitment to WHO guidelines for onchocerciasis elimination through annual or biannual community-directed treatment with ivermectin.
Onchocerciasis, caused by the parasitic worm Onchocerca volvulus and transmitted through blackfly bites near fast-flowing rivers, remains endemic in 31 African countries. WHO data indicates that more than 99% of infected people live in sub-Saharan Africa, with Nigeria carrying one of the continent's highest disease burdens. The condition causes severe itching, skin lesions, and visual impairment that can progress to irreversible blindness if untreated.
Coordinated Disease Control Efforts
The Kogi initiative aligns with the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC) framework, which has distributed more than 1.7 billion treatments across the continent since 1995. Sightsavers, which supports NTD programs in 14 African countries, has been instrumental in training community drug distributors and strengthening health system capacity for mass drug campaigns.
"Mass administration of medicines remains the cornerstone of onchocerciasis control, requiring coverage rates above 80% of eligible populations to interrupt transmission," according to WHO treatment guidelines for neglected tropical diseases. The planning meeting in Kogi focused on logistics coordination, community mobilization strategies, and monitoring frameworks to ensure effective drug distribution across endemic local government areas.
Nigeria's Federal Ministry of Health reports that 31 of the country's 36 states require ongoing onchocerciasis interventions, with riverine communities in states like Kogi facing particularly high transmission risks. The disease not only causes individual suffering but also imposes significant economic costs through lost productivity and caregiving burdens in affected agricultural communities.
Regional Health Infrastructure Developments
Elsewhere in Africa, Kenya's Ministry of Health has issued two procurement tenders for emergency response vehicles, signaling efforts to strengthen health system mobility and outbreak response capacity. The ministry's Strategic Disease Management Services division published requests for branded double-cab pickup trucks and medium-duty utility vehicles, both four-wheel drive diesel models, with bid closing dates set for April 7, 2026.
The tenders, designated MOH/SDMS/HEPRR/ONT/01/2025-2026 and MOH/SDMS/HEPRR/ONT/02/2025-2026, fall under the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response programme. Kenya has prioritized emergency response infrastructure following lessons from recent disease outbreaks, including cholera and Rift Valley fever, which exposed gaps in rapid deployment capabilities to remote and underserved regions.
Vehicle procurement for health emergency response has become a priority across East Africa, where poor road infrastructure and vast distances between health facilities complicate outbreak investigations and medical supply distribution. The Kenya Medical Supplies Authority has identified transport logistics as a critical bottleneck in achieving universal health coverage targets, particularly for vaccine cold chain maintenance and specimen transport to reference laboratories.
Broader NTD Elimination Context
The Kogi river blindness initiative reflects accelerating momentum toward the WHO 2030 NTD roadmap, which targets elimination of onchocerciasis as a public health problem in all endemic countries. Six African nations—Benin, Mali, Senegal, Togo, Uganda, and Malawi—have already achieved elimination status for at least one endemic focus, demonstrating that sustained mass drug administration combined with vector control can interrupt transmission.
However, challenges remain. Climate change is altering blackfly breeding patterns, conflict disrupts drug distribution campaigns, and some parasite populations show concerning signs of reduced ivermectin susceptibility. The Africa CDC estimates that sustained funding of approximately $300 million annually is required to maintain NTD elimination programs across the continent through 2030.
Cross-border coordination has proven essential, as blackfly vectors can travel considerable distances and reintroduce parasites to cleared areas. The Kogi planning meeting included discussions on coordination with neighboring states to ensure synchronized treatment rounds and prevent transmission hotspots from persisting at administrative boundaries.
As African health ministries balance competing priorities from communicable disease control to health infrastructure development, programs like Kogi's mass drug administration and Kenya's emergency fleet expansion illustrate the multifaceted approach required to strengthen health systems. Success will depend on sustained political commitment, adequate financing, and continued partnership between governments, international organizations, and affected communities.