Schistosomiasis Control Initiative
Summary
Evaluation on key parameters
Schistosomiasis Control Initiative (SCI) is a recommended organization.
| Parameter | One-word summary | More details (section in this page) |
|---|---|---|
| Evidence of effectiveness | Strong | #Independent evidence of program effectiveness |
| Cost-effectiveness | Excellent | #Independent evidence of program effectiveness |
| Funding gap aka room for more funding | Significant | #Room for more funding |
| Transparency | ? | ? |
| Monitoring and evaluation | Strong | #Internal monitoring: large-scale programs |
Summary of who they are and what they do
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Countries of operation | ? (African countries) |
| Headquarters | Imperial College, London, United Kingdom |
| Goals | Create or scale up mass drug administration programs for neglected tropical diseases (NTD), particularly schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths (STHs), in school-aged children and other groups determined to be at high risk. |
| Method summary | Advocate for the benefits of mass drug distributions to government officials. Assist with planning and fund raising. Deliver funding and drugs to governments. Provide financial management and technical support. Develop procedures for monitoring and evaluation. |
| Previous sources of funding | grant from Gates Foundation (private philanthropic foundation) grants from USAID (US federal grantmaking agency) grants from DFID (UK central grantmaking agency) |
Review process
The review of SCI began in 2009. Below are details of the kind of inputs used in the review process.
| What we sought to learn | How we learned it |
|---|---|
| Effectiveness and other effects of these kinds of programs | Study of the published literature |
| Details of the big picture of SCI's operations | Extensive communications with SCI Director Alan Fenwick to discuss SCI's methods and funding needs meetings with other staff at SCI's headquarters in London Requesting and reviewing SCI internal financial and organizational documents. |
| Feel for how SCI's programs are run on the ground | Visiting a national schistosomiasis control program meeting and demonstration mass drug administration in Malawi (site visit: October 2011) |
Operations and history
Note to GiveWell staff: ignore the red links, they are meant to be stand-ins for your current internal links to pages.
To understand this section better, follow the links to get more background information on these topics:
neglected tropical diseases (NTDs): diseases that currently afflict people largely in low-income tropical areas, particularly Africa, and are neglected by most research efforts in the developed world because they do not cause much trouble in developed world countries.
List of NTDs mentioned here: schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminths (acronym STHs), lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, and trachoma.
mass drug administration program: Fill this in later
Broad description of goals and methods
SCI's goal is to create or scale up mass drug administration programs for neglected tropical diseases (NTD), particularly schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths (STHs), in school-aged children and other groups determined to be at high risk. They list the following five methods:
- Advocate for the benefits of mass drug distributions to government officials in the African countries
- Assist with planning and fund raising
- Deliver funding and drugs to governments
- Provide financial management and technical support
- Develop procedures for monitoring and evaluation
History of operations and funding
Below are some of the important funders and details of the programs funded (the ?s reflect things that weren't clear from GiveWell's page but can be dug up from the original sources, I'm sure):
| Funder | Year of funding | Amount of funding | Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) tackled | Countries tackled | Expiry of grant | Additional comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gates Foundation (private philanthropic foundation that makes grants for developing world health charities) | 2002 | $32 million | schistosomiasis, STHs | six African countries: Fill this in later | unspecified | This was a founding grant. |
| USAID (US federal grantmaking agency) and Gates Foundation | 2006 | unspecified | schistosomiasis, STHs, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, and trachoma | eight African countries: Fill this in later | Till 2011 (five year grant) | |
| ? | 2007 | unspecified | schistosomiasis, STHs, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, and trachoma | Rwanda and Burundi | Till 2011 | This was intended to expand the program from the eight current countries of operation to these two new countries. |
| DFID (UK central grantmaking agency) | 2010 | unspecified | schistosomiasis, STHs | in eight countries (same eight?) | Till 2015 (?), five year grant | Other NTDs are not covered by the grant, [SHOW MORE] |