Our Blog

Our blog page is dedicated to helping you keep up-to-date with all the latest happenings COUNTDOWN Cameroon is involved in. 

Using GPS Logging Devices to track water contact of schistosomiasis at risk-groups in Barombi Kotto, Cameroon

By Sharon Ngang | Jul 19, 2018 |

COUNTDOWN is investigating best ways to expand interventions to ensure all those vulnerable to schistosomiasis have access to Praziquantel treatment. In so doing, these efforts will require governments, researchers and health stakeholders to gather evidence and, where the need arises, revise existing strategies of control to address these needs. In Cameroon for example, the government…

Read More

Let’s Move the Agenda from Control to Elimination of NTDs

By Prof. Louis-Albert Tchuem Tchuenté, Pamela Bongkiyung, Prof. Russell Stothard | Sep 21, 2017 |

Who has the perfect answer to controlling or eliminating a disease? It gets more difficult when simply using medication does not guarantee no re-infection. In the case of Schistosomiasis and Soil-transmitted Helminthiasis, in the agenda of elimination one wonders if what we need are more parasitologists in the affected areas or getting the current ones…

Read More

Going with the Flow: Local Learning about Rivers to Implement Ground Larviciding for Community-based Control of River Blindness

By Sharon Ngang | Sep 8, 2017 |

By Prof Samuel Wanji, Dr Peter Enyong, Andrew Amuam, Relindis Ekanya, Dr Louise Hamill, Dr Joe Turner   Preparations are proceeding at pace to control the local blackfly population in the South West Region of Cameroon. This is part of an integrated control strategy against river blindness implemented by the COUNTDOWN consortium, in partnership with the University…

Read More

Tackling the Lack of Uniformity in Schistosomiasis Transmission

By Prof. Louis-Albert Tchuem Tchuenté, Pamela Bongkiyung, Prof. Russell Stothard | Sep 5, 2017 |

  Schistosomiasis or Bilharzia or snail fever as some call it remains one of the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) that is ravaging many poor people around the world. They thrive in areas with poor sanitation, often inhabited by those with limited to no access to health care. It can cause liver damage or sterility in…

Read More

China and Africa Join Forces in Fight to Eliminate Schistosomiasis

By Prof. Louis-Albert Tchuem Tchuenté, Pamela Bongkiyung, Prof. Russell Stothard | Aug 29, 2017 |

In the fight against Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), it has become obvious that learning from other countries’ successes will help many others to control and eliminate these diseases. This is how the China-Africa meeting and collaboration came about in 2012. Whilst on a visit to the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, we caught up with…

Read More

Multidisciplinary research at the foothills of a live volcano

By L.A. Tchuem Tchuenté | Oct 12, 2016 |

Sally Theobald, COUNTDOWN consortium Mount Cameroon, a live volcano, and the highest mountain, in west and central Africa was the site of our COUNTDOWN Cameroon planning meeting. Looking out to sea emerges another Volcano: Bioko, the island capital of neighbouring  Equatorial Guinea. My inner geographer was enthralled. Prof Wanji, our host, and himself a strong…

Read More

NTDs Training for Journalists: Increasing media coverage for better advocacy on NTDs control

By L.A. Tchuem Tchuenté | Aug 1, 2016 |

In Cameroon, there continues to be a gap in media coverage as high focus is given to the big three – AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria while low visibility still lingers around neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) albeit the eminent burden caused by these diseases collectively. There has been an outburst of activity to try and reverse…

Read More

Evaluating the level of transmission of schistosomiasis and the efficacy of praziquantel treatment

By L.A. Tchuem Tchuenté | May 28, 2016 |

A 10-person team from the Centre for Schistosomiasis and Parasitology and University of Yaoundé I, travelled to the city of Edea, in the Littoral region from 24th-27th May 2016 to conduct an evaluation study. National Deworming campaigns for school aged children take place annually in all regions of Cameroon under the guidance of the National Programme…

Read More

COUNTDOWN Annual Meeting: Looking at progress made thus far

By L.A. Tchuem Tchuenté | Apr 22, 2016 |

On Wednesday, 20th April 2016 all partners from the COUNTDOWN consortium gathered in Ghana for a 3-day meeting to discuss progress made thus far since the inception year of the implementation research programme. This 3-day annual review meeting got off to a good start with the opening meeting, which was attended by key officials including the NTD Ambassador in…

Read More

COUNTDOWN Project launches in Cameroon

By L.A. Tchuem Tchuenté | Oct 9, 2015 |

COUNTDOWN is a multidisciplinary research programme made of researchers, policy makers, practitioners and Implementation Research specialists from the UK, USA and Africa, who have come together with the ultimate goal of generating knowledge and sustainable solutions necessary in controlling and eliminating 5 of the 17 Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) listed by the World Health Organisation.…

Read More