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. 2019 Sep 2;11(5):370-378.
doi: 10.1093/inthealth/ihz012.

Gender equity in mass drug administration for neglected tropical diseases: data from 16 countries

Daniel A Cohn  1 , Maureen P Kelly  1 , Kalpana Bhandari  1 , Kathryn L Zoerhoff  1 , Wilfrid E Batcho  2 , François Drabo  3 , Nebiyu Negussu  4 , Benjamin Marfo  5 , André Goepogui  6 , Jean-Frantz Lemoine  7 , Sitti Ganefa  8 , Marilia Massangaie  9 , Pradip Rimal  10 , Issa Gnandou  11 , Ifeoma N Anagbogu  12 , Mamadou Ndiaye  13 , Yakuba Madina Bah  14 , Upendo J Mwingira  15   16 , Marcel S Awoussi  17 , Edridah M Tukahebwa  18 , Rachel D Stelmach  1 , Pia C Mingkwan  1 , Bolivar Pou  19 , Joseph B Koroma  20 , Lisa A Rotondo  1 , John D Kraemer  1   21 , Margaret C Baker  1
Affiliations

Gender equity in mass drug administration for neglected tropical diseases: data from 16 countries

Daniel A Cohn et al. Int Health. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Background: Gender equity in global health is a target of the Sustainable Development Goals and a requirement of just societies. Substantial progress has been made towards control and elimination of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) via mass drug administration (MDA). However, little is known about whether MDA coverage is equitable. This study assesses the availability of gender-disaggregated data and whether systematic gender differences in MDA coverage exist.

Methods: Coverage data were analyzed for 4784 district-years in 16 countries from 2012 through 2016. The percentage of districts reporting gender-disaggregated data was calculated and male-female coverage compared.

Results: Reporting of gender-disaggregated coverage data improved from 32% of districts in 2012 to 90% in 2016. In 2016, median female coverage was 85.5% compared with 79.3% for males. Female coverage was higher than male coverage for all diseases. However, within-country differences exist, with 64 (3.3%) districts reporting male coverage >10 percentage points higher than female coverage.

Conclusions: Reporting of gender-disaggregated data is feasible. And NTD programs consistently achieve at least equal levels of coverage for women. Understanding gendered barriers to MDA for men and women remains a priority.

Keywords: Sustainable Development Goals; equity; gender; mass drug administration; neglected tropical diseases; public health.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Distribution of district level coverage by disease and gender in FY 2016. Boxes represent the median and interquartile range, whiskers represent observations within 1.5 times the interquartile range from the first or third quartile, and dots represent observations outside that range. Percentages denote the median value. FY, fiscal year; LF, lymphatic filariasis; STH, soil-transmitted helminths; SCH, schistosomiasis; TR, trachoma; OV, onchocerciasis.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Distribution of within-district gender differences in coverage by disease, FY 2016. FY, fiscal year; LF, lymphatic filariasis; STH, soil-transmitted helminths; SCH, schistosomiasis; TR, trachoma; OV, onchocerciasis.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Distribution of within-district gender differences in coverage by country, FY 2016. FY, fiscal year.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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