Availability of drugs for treatment of human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) in non-endemic countries

Anti-trypanosomal medicines are donated by Sanofi and Bayer and distributed solely under the responsibility of WHO. They cannot be obtained commercially (except for pentamidine, which is used to treat diseases other than HAT). The medicines are provided to countries in which the disease is endemic through WHO country offices, upon request, according to the needs and information provided. To treat HAT cases diagnosed in non-endemic countries, pharmaceutical services should request the medicines from WHO and provide epidemiological and clinical data on cases in whom the disease is diagnosed. This information enables WHO to maintain an HAT surveillance system for non-endemic countries that provides valuable information on "spots" of transmission to complement the data collected in endemic countries. This information is provided directly to the endemic countries and can be used to trigger specific activities.