Karen Department of Health and Welfare of Annual Report 2011

Program Services
The Karen LF program (KLFP) provides preventive and palliative services for people in the Wah
Ka Der clinic area. At the same time, BPHWT conducts MDAs in three other areas, Pa Pun in Mu
Traw, and small areas in Kler Lwee Tu and Doo Tha Tu districts. LF workers are trained to
provide education, palliative treatments for the afflicted, and screening of the population for
program evaluation. Education is conducted through community meetings, focus groups, and
distribution of posters and pamphlets.
Annual MDAs have been conducted by the KLFP in the Wah Ka Der area, comprising 20 villages,
since 2008. Percentages of the eligible population (leaving out pregnant and breast-feeding
women, and children under two) who received the drugs are shown in Table 10. With 53-63%
MDA coverage in an endemic population with 46% prevalence KLFP estimates that it will take
12-20 years to interrupt LF transmission.
One household participating in Mass Drug Administration
The KLFP medics strive to increase annual MDA coverage to 80% in order to interrupt LF
transmission in fewer years. LF transmission is interrupted when the prevalence in the endemic
population reaches about 0.5% 8 . At the start of the program, many villagers declined
medication due to uncomfortable side effects such as rash, headache, or nausea (occurring
mainly among persons already infected), and because they had no symptoms of disease. To
45