Devex: Strong leadership, drug donations helped Malawi eliminate elephantiasis
“Just over a decade ago, there were parts of Malawi where nearly 80% of the population was infected by lymphatic filariasis, or LF, a parasitic disease spread by mosquitoes and commonly known as elephantiasis. … But the country turned this around, recently becoming only the second in sub-Saharan Africa to stop the transmission of the disease, after Togo in 2017. The World Health Organization attributes Malawi’s success to political will, which allowed it to scale up the distribution of donated drugs very quickly. Without sufficient funding and political commitment, however, other countries in the region are struggling to move toward elimination…” (Jerving, 11/13).