National Consensus on Introducing and Delivery of Paediatric Praziquantel for Curative and Preventive Treatment of Schistosomiasis Among Pre-school Children in Tanzania.

Background: Global and national strategies to control and/or eliminate schistosomiasis focus mainly on MDA for School-Aged Children (SAC) and in some areas, adults. Following growing demand for specific intervention for paediatric schistosomiasis, paediatric praziquantel (arPZQ) formulation has been developed, and it is expected to be on market in 2025. Objective: The objective of the project was to prepare the health system for the introduction and delivery of paediatric praziquantel to pre-school aged children in Tanzania. Methodology: This was cross-sectional implementation research which employed qualitative methods including group discussions, consultative meetings, and stakeholder's engagements at different levels. Results: The engagement of multi-stakeholders from national to community levels led to the identification of implementation gaps and challenges which have the potential to delay the introduction of arPZQ. Through engagement process, stakeholders addressed the gaps and identified potential delivery models relevant to the context of Tanzanian health system. Conclusion: To ensure no pre-school child is left behind, consensus was reached to target children in the communities and those visiting health facilities for routine healthcare or child health growth monitoring services, and during vitamin A supplementation campaigns. Prior to starting the delivery of arPZQ, capacity of the healthcare facilities to deliver arPZQ should be strengthened to ensure healthcare workers do the right thing.