Onchocerciasis Elimination Program for the Americas (OEPA)

"Onchocerciasis Elimination Program for the Americas, OEPA, is the Program for the Elimination of Onchocerciasis in the Americas. 

OEPA is a Regional Initiative, which resulted from Resolution XIV of the XXXV Assembly of the Directing Council of the Pan American Sanitary Bureau (PAHO), signed in 1991 by the Ministries of Health of countries affected by Onchocerciasis on the continent.   

Headquartered in Guatemala, OEPA is the technical and coordinating entity of a multinational and multi-agency coalition that acts in accordance with the resolutions of the Directing Council of the Pan American Health Organization CD35.R14 (1991), CD48.R12 (2008) and CD49 . R19 (2009) that call for the elimination of morbidity and transmission of Onchocerciasis of the Americas by 2015.

Each year, the National Program authorities prepare, with their regional and local teams, the annual plan to be developed in which they include requests to OEPA for technical and financial support. These requests are handled according to the availability of resources and a technical follow-up is also carried out, so that all countries act under the guidelines of the regional strategy.

At present there are three countries, out of 6 in the Region where PAHO / WHO has already verified that they are free from onchocerciasis, and for this reason the OEPA logo is crowned with 3 stars."

Source: http://www.oepa.net/#Qué es OEPA