WHO Trains Africa Health Workers on Sleeping Sickness Drug
A single-dose oral treatment for sleeping sickness is being taught to health professionals across French-speaking African countries in Lomé, Togo.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Diseases — General
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The World Health Organization is training doctors, nurses and national program officials from 10 French-speaking countries in Lomé, Togo, on administering acoziborole, a single-dose oral treatment for human African trypanosomiasis. The French-language session runs November 4 to 6, 2026, and a second session for English-speaking countries is scheduled for November 9 to 11.
Why it matters
Sleeping sickness is transmitted through the bite of an infected tsetse fly and has long been difficult to treat. Training local health workers allows participants to return home and teach others how to identify eligible patients and deliver the drug.
Clinical trials reported treatment success rates of up to 96% after 18 months for acoziborole, which is intended for adults and adolescents aged 12 and older weighing at least 40 kilograms with the gambiense form of the disease. Annual reported cases have fallen from approximately 25,000 in 1995 to fewer than 1,000 today, but the source does not detail long-term outcomes beyond the 18-month trial window.
The players
World Health Organization (WHO)
The United Nations agency that leads global public health efforts and coordinates international responses to diseases such as sleeping sickness.
The details
Participants are learning which patients qualify, how to administer the drug, how to monitor its safety and how to provide follow-up care, and they will train other health professionals in their home countries. The drug's approval by the Democratic Republic of Congo in June 2026 marks one step in its rollout across affected regions.
Timeline
2020: WHO recognized Togo as the first African country to eliminate sleeping sickness as a public health problem.
June 2026: The Democratic Republic of Congo approved acoziborole.
November 4 to 6, 2026: French-language WHO training session held in Lomé, Togo.
November 9 to 11, 2026: English-language WHO training session scheduled.
Big Picture
Togo's 2020 recognition by WHO as the first African country to eliminate sleeping sickness as a public health problem set the precedent for this regional training effort. The acoziborole rollout extends that progress by equipping health workers across the continent with a single-dose treatment option.
A single-dose oral treatment could eliminate the need for routine lumbar punctures to determine disease stage and could reduce travel costs and hospital stays for patients. Eligibility is limited to adults and adolescents aged 12 and older weighing at least 40 kilograms with the gambiense form of the disease.
The takeaway
Training local health professionals to deliver a single-dose treatment can help sustain progress against sleeping sickness, since participants will pass their knowledge on to colleagues in their home countries. The approach shows how targeted education can extend a medical advance beyond the clinics where it was first tested.
What happens next
The English-language WHO training session for health professionals is scheduled for November 9 to 11, 2026.
Further reading
For broader context on infectious disease treatment efforts, explore Diseases — General.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Ecofin Agency.
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