Schistosomiasis in Formal and Non-Formal Schools in Uganda: Implications for Control

Current efforts to control schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthes infections focus on the school-age population, and school-based treatment delivery programs offer a major cost advantages because of the use of the existing school infrastructure and the fact that schoolchildren are accessible through schools. However, in many developing countries, large numbers of school-age children are not in school and this has raised questions about the effectiveness of school-based programs in reaching non-enrolled children. Increasingly, the non-formal education sector is providing a growing solution to the problem of poor enrolment in basic education, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, and has recently been used to deliver praziquantel as part of a national schistosomiasis control program in Uganda. However, it is unclear how effective this program has been in reaching children who attend non-formal schools and whether the program has been reaching children from the poorest households.