Effect of parasite screening on refugee health

Intestinal parasitic infections among refugees have been perceived as a public health problem for decades. A control program strategy to reduce morbidity and eventually transmission of intestinal parasites was initiated in 1993 by Mercy International (MI) for a group of Somalia refugee and has been implemented successfully. The management of the program operating within a comprehensive health care project and the control activities has been performed through the existing health facilities. This project was based on the "Comprehensive Health Care Approach" concept and applied to a collection of 10,000 Somali refugees. A project, which could be further, developed and modified for other similar situations. The strategy adopted was based on periodic chemotherapy of schoolchildren, intense health education in close collaboration with the local community leaders. An overall reduction in prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections of 53% was one of the targets achieved through this effort after three years of activities. 92% and 62% reduced the intensity of Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura infection, respectively. This approach in concert with the political commitment and limited operational costs is a warranty for the future sustainability of the control activities. Future control strategies are tailored to the results of evaluation surveys and are targeted to the identified high-risk areas. This project can be seen as a model in other refugee situation with the use of limited local resources.