Executive summary

A visit was conducted to Mwanza, Tanzania from 17 to 18 February 2026 to participate in the Stakeholders Workshop on the Launching of the Delivery of arpraziquantel (arPZQ) in Tanzania. The workshop was organised by the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), the national research institution of the Ministry of Health, in partnership with international development partners such as United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), World Health Organization Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (WHO-TDR), the Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT Fund), Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), and the Embassy of Japan.

The first day of the visit comprised a field visit to Sengerema District Council to observe the delivery of arPZQ to pre-school age children (PSAC) through the Test-and-Treat (T&T) approach, as part of the STEPPS project. The second day convened a formal stakeholder’s workshop during which key milestones of the STEPPS project were presented, the arPZQ delivery in Tanzania was formally launched by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, and a higher-level dialogue on strategies for scaling up access to arPZQ across Tanzania and the African region was discussed.

The mission provided an important opportunity to witness real-world implementation of arPZQ delivery, contribute to multi-stakeholder dialogue on scale-up strategies, and engage with government, development partners, and research institutions on advancing access to this novel paediatric treatment for schistosomiasis.