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Evidence Action Expands to Tanzania to Eliminate Parasitic Worms as a Public Health Problem - Evidence Action
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This resource is unrelated to AI safety; it covers global health philanthropy and deworming programs, and appears to have been included in this knowledge base by error or for organizational benchmarking purposes.
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Summary
Evidence Action announces its expansion into Tanzania to scale up deworming programs aimed at eliminating soil-transmitted helminths and schistosomiasis as public health problems. The initiative builds on Evidence Action's Deworm the World program, which uses evidence-based, cost-effective interventions to treat school-age children at scale. This expansion reflects the organization's commitment to delivering high-impact global health interventions in sub-Saharan Africa.
Key Points
- •Evidence Action is expanding its Deworm the World Initiative to Tanzania to address parasitic worm infections affecting school-age children.
- •The program targets soil-transmitted helminths and schistosomiasis, which impair child development, school attendance, and long-term health outcomes.
- •Evidence Action's approach is evidence-based and cost-effective, making it a GiveWell top charity recommendation.
- •Tanzania expansion aims to achieve WHO targets for eliminating parasitic worms as a public health problem through mass drug administration.
- •The initiative works in partnership with Tanzania's government to integrate deworming into national health programs.
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Evidence Action
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January 07, 2026
Evidence Action is launching its [Deworm the World](https://www.evidenceaction.org/programs/deworm-the-world) program in Tanzania, partnering with the government to combat parasitic worm infections.
More than 10 million children across the country are currently at risk of or infected with soil-transmitted helminths and/or schistosomiasis. Through technical assistance — including support for mass drug administration planning, follow-up surveys, and the first nationwide prevalence survey in over 20 years — the program will support Tanzania's efforts to eliminate parasitic worms as a public health problem by 2030, the [disease-specific target set by the World Health Organization](https://www.who.int/teams/control-of-neglected-tropical-diseases/ending-ntds-together-towards-2030/targets).
"These infections represent a significant barrier to children's health, education, and long-term economic prospects," said Kate McCracken, director of Evidence Action’s Deworm the World program. "Our partnership focuses on providing the evidence and strategic support the government needs to ensure treatments reach the children who need them most — while continuing to build systems that work without external partners long-term. We are thankful to partner with a government that is fully on board and committed to an evidence-based, decentralized program design."
This work in Tanzania is made possible through generous support from [Founders Pledge](https://www.founderspledge.com/).
## **Precision targeting through evidence**
Tanzania has traditionally targeted all 184 district councils and over 10 million school-age children for treatment. However, recent surveys across select district councils reveal generally low infection rates for soil-transmitted helminths (3.4% overall STH prevalence) but dramatic variation in schistosomiasis infection rates at sub-district levels (9.3% overall SCH prevalence with 63% SCH prevalence in high-risk communities).
Evidence Action's support will help reshape the national treatment strategy, enabling Tanzania to shift from country-wide treatment to focused delivery in high-burden areas and directing resources to the children who need them most.
"We're taking a different approach than our traditional deworming programs," McCracken said. "Rather than supporting a full mass treatment campaign, we're investing in what Tanzania needs most right now — the evidence to make their own program more cost-effective and sustainable."
## **Government leadership and proven impact**
The program launches as Tanzania pioneers an innovative approach where all 184 district councils now budget for their own deworming campaigns, an essential shift after [external funding for the program was suspended in 2025](https://ww
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