HISTONCHO: A dataset of intervention histories for onchocerciasis control & elimination in sub-Saharan Africa
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), onchocerciasis control has been implemented for many decades, beginning in 1974 under the Onchocerciasis Control Programme in West Africa (OCP) and in 1995 in Central and East Africa (plus Liberia) under the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC). Since the establishment of the Expanded Special Project for Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases (ESPEN) in 2016, data on mass drug administration (MDA) with ivermectin has been centrally compiled for all endemic countries at implementation unit (IU) level, beginning in 2013. This paper presents HISTONCHO, a dataset collating detailed information on interventions, including vector control, from 1975 through to 2022, using the ESPEN portal (2013–2022), regional and country reports, implementation partners’ records, and published literature. Reconstructing such intervention histories is crucial for an understanding of their evolution, modelling their impact, and tailoring future interventions. We discuss strengths and limitations associated with the ESPEN database, and how HISTONCHO can be improved to support modelling of intervention strategies as well as onchocerciasis control and elimination efforts by endemic country programmes.
Date Issued
2026-03-27
Date Acceptance
2026-02-06
Citation
Scientific Data, 2026, 13
ISSN
2052-4463
Publisher
Nature Portfolio
Journal / Book Title
Scientific Data
Volume
13
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2026 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
License URL
Identifier
10.1038/s41597-026-06852-w
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
480
Date Publish Online
2026-02-19