40 Years of the APOC Partnership

In 1974 the Onchocerciasis Control Program (OCP) began its mission to control river blindness (onchocerciasis) in Africa, transitioning into the African Program for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC) in 1995. The launch of this collection coincides with the 41st anniversary of APOC and describes all facets of the success leading to the effective control of river blindness: partnerships, funding, distribution strategies, monitoring and evaluation, lessons learned, and advocacy. This partnership is unique in the involvement of a broad range of financial, scientific and operational partners, with crucial roles played by a private sector drug donation and by a network of 15 NGOs, and has been so successful that blindness caused by onchocerciasis is no longer a public health problem in most of countries. The Partnership now reaches more than 100 million people annually across Africa to control the disease.

Image Credit: APOC