Non-Adherence to Community Directed Treatment with Ivermectin for Onchocerciasis Elimination in the Tain District of Ghana Jeffrey Gabriel Sumboh¹ ² *, Francis Anto², Michael David Wilson¹ ¹Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Accra, Ghana ²School of Public Health, Accra, Ghana *Correspondence: jsumboh@noguchi.ug.edu.gh Introduction Results Onchocerciasis is one of the debilitating neglected tropical diseases that manifests in blindness at later stages¹. ivermectin has been proven to clear microfilariae and is therefore being distributed in endemic communities². Adherence to ivermectin treatment is a major challenge in the implementation of the community directed treatment strategy³. Some individuals do not adhere to the bi-annual treatment accounting for the continuity of onchocerciasis transmission. In this study we investigated the factors contributing to the persistence of onchocerciasis in Abekwai in the Tain district Determine the proportion of the population who received ivermection Determine the proportion of the population who swallowed ivermection Determine individual level factors that affected the swallow of ivermectin A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted. 251 participants were selected randomly to take part in the study. Factors likely to influence adherence was elicited using a pre-tested structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Stata version 13. Chi square test was used to determine significance of the individual level factors against drug uptake. Specific Objectives Methods Conclusions Bibliography Coffeng, L. E., Stolk, W. A., Zouré, H. G. M., Veerman, J. L., Agblewonu, K. B., Murdoch, M. E., … Amazigo, U. V. (2013).http://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0002032 Osei-Atweneboana, M. Y., Awadzi, K., Attah, S. K., Boakye, D. A., Gyapong, J. O., & Prichard, R. K. (2011). http://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000998 Endale, A., Erko, B., Weldegebreal, F., & Legesse, M. (2015). http://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-015-0695-7 This work was funded by The Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research with supervisory support from the School of Public Health, University of Ghana. We also acknowledge the immense support from Prof. Michael David Wilson and Dr. Francis Anto. It has been established that 18.3% of the participants did not swallow ivermectin. Educational activities and mop-ups are therefore needed to be carried out on regular bases by the district health directorate to encourage regular uptake while implementation research be carried out for an overall improvement in uptake. Acknowledgements