NaPAN has recently entered into contractual agreement to roll out a project entitled as Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) Morbidity Mapping and Management in Ethiopia . The project is component of the ASCEND Program financed by the UK Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) and granted through Crown Agents Limited. It is a one year project, February, 2021 to January, 2022, implemented in 45 LF endemic districts.

The project is designed to render two services: Morbidity Mapping and Morbidity Management. The first service consists in assessing the burden of LF related morbidities by  mapping LF in 24 districts where the burden of the disease has not been  known before.  This service will be done by Health Extension Workers  (HEW) through house‐to‐house screening of every household. The staff of  catchment Health center will supervise the mapping exercise. 

The second service, morbidity management and disability prevention, revolves around two outcomes: one is improved access to morbidity management services. The  activities  will  consist  in  the  provision  of  lymphoedema  morbidity  management  service  at  Health  Centers  and  Health  posts  level  for  20,000  individuals. This entails training of health staff and equipping health facilities in  the targeted districts with necessary equipment and supplies.  The service will include the provision of hydrocelectomies service at hospitals for 1,500  individuals. This service will be implemented in 45 LF endemic districts. The other outcome is preventive measures, including hygiene promotion and behaviour change communication. The is, the project will provide community awareness, prevention of stigma  and discrimination and psychosocial support. This includes Information  Education and Communication (IEC) and Behaviour Change Communication  (BCC) material development and roll‐out thereby ensuring social care and prevention of stigma and discrimination.       

Footwork International is excited to invite you to register for the First International Podoconiosis Conference, to be held on Sunday 23rd September, 2018 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The Brighton & Sussex Centre for Global Health Research and Footwork are delighted to unite with local NGO and University partners and the Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Health to host this conference. As the country bearing the highest burden of podoconiosis globally as well as the one with the most advanced research and implementation, Ethiopia is the ideal setting for this conference.

The theme for this is ‘Research to Implementation: A Call for Global Action’. With this invitation to register, we are also calling for abstracts from all those involved in podoconiosis research and implementation. In order to stimulate high levels of participation, the conference programme will include two sessions of research presentations, one of implementation presentations, and a poster display area. Abstracts for each of these will be selected by competitive process, and prizes will be awarded for the best research and the best implementation presentations. Travel awards will be available for a limited number of selected abstracts.

The conference will be held at the Intercontinental Hotel, Addis Ababa. Accommodation is available there and at a number of other hotels within easy walking distance. The First International Podoconiosis Conference has been timed to precede the Neglected Tropical Disease NGO Network (NNN) conference, and the two conferences will be united through a joint Welcome Reception on Sunday evening.

Footwork  International Podoconiosis Initiative has announced that the first international conference on podoconiosis will take place in Addis Ababa on Sunday 23rd of September 2018.

              Review meeting in progress (Lt) and Group photo of participants (Rt)

The three years project [October 5, 2014 to October 5, 2017] Preventing Podo Project (PPP) which was funded by BIG Lottery through University of Sussex  aim is to provide treatment and care for  patients affected by podoconiosis  and also prevent new podoconiosis cases through awareness raising in shoe wearing and basic hygiene .

To review the progress of the project, NaPAN carried out a two day project review meeting from May 30 to 31, 2017 at Addis Ababa. Thirteen participants from project implementing organizations attended the meeting.  

The meeting reviewed not only the year three project period, but also the overall project performance since the start of the project against the project outcomes. With this regard, the project reached over 80, 000 community individuals directly through awareness raising activities and over one million communities indirectly through radio campaign, distributed over 600,000 pairs of TOMS shoes to primary school students, established over 100 STOP PODO School Clubs, treated over 60, 000 podoconiosis patients, established 12 patient-led groups, and trained over 300 clinical health workers in lymphedema morbidity management.

 The meeting reached consensus that all existing efforts need to be used in its fullest capacity to meet the targets in the remaining four months.