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Esther Mwakitalu
graduated from the University of Dar-Es-Salaam with a Bachelor
of Science (Hons), Marine Biology and Microbiology in 1995. At
present Esther is employed as a Research Scientist at the National
Institute for Medical Research (NIMR).
When Esther joined NIMR in 2000 she started working
with the LF Elimination Programme and was part of the team that
carried out baseline surveys in Mafia Archipelago, these results
rose a need for urgent implementation of the programme. Hence,
Mafia was the first district to get LF drugs in Tanzania. The
Tanzanian LF Programme launched in Mafia on 1st October 2000.
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2001 the programme scaled up to cover the whole of Coast region. Since
then the programme has scaled up to cover the coastal belt that includes
Coast, Dar-Es-Salaam, Lindi, Mtwara and Tanga regions and has reached
about 12.5 million people. Though the programme suffers financial
constraints we look forward to Tanzania being free of LF by the year
2018.
The programme is mainly dealing with interrupting
transmission (providing drugs to eligible people in endemic areas
through Mass Drug Distribution) and disease alleviation (Washing
and exercising to improve condition of the affected parts). Hydrocelectomy
is undertaken as part of the disease alleviation programme.
Esther registered as a part time MPhil student with
the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in 2001 and her thesis
work is based on the LF Programme in the Archipelago. She says that
‘studying in Liverpool has widened my general knowledge on
LF. I am thankful to the sponsors, supervisors, colleagues and staff
of LFSC’.
The Programme gets financial support from the Government
of Tanzania, DFID through the Liverpool LFSC. We are thankful that
the programme received funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation (grant ended in 2005). Michigan State University provides
technical support. Drugs are donated by GSK (albendazole) and Merck
& Co. Inc (ivermectin).
Esther successfully defended her thesis in November 2007 |
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