Household Coverage of Ivermectin Distribution in Birnin Kudu Local Government Area of Jigawa State, Nigeria

Purpose: To assess community-directed treatment coverage with Ivermectin (CDTI) in Onchocerciasis-endemic communities in Birnin Kudu local government area (LGA) Jigawa state. Subjects and Methods: This was a community-based multistaged cross-sectional survey based on probability proportional to size. The study involved the administration of a questionnaire on 2021 respondents from 207 households. Also, 30 Community Leaders and Community Directed Distributors (CDDs) were purposively selected for interview from the communities visited. Results: Overall, 2021 respondents from the 2031 sampled population took part in the study giving a response rate of 99.6%. Slightly above half, 1130 (55.9%) were males. The geographic and therapeutic coverage of mass drug administration of Ivermectin achieved in the LGA was 100% and 79.9%, respectively. The key factors affecting coverage includes the unavailability of drugs (48.8%), absenteeism of some of the household members (31%), and inadequate incentives to the CDDs by the government and poor record keeping by the CDDs. Conclusion: This study found that the minimum geographic and therapeutic coverage of Ivermectin distribution was achieved by CDD as recommended by the World Health Organization for the control of onchocerciasis. For this to be sustained and to achieve elimination, there must be an adequate supply of ivermectin, training of CDDs, retraining of CDDs, adequate supervision in record keeping, and health education to the community.