Established in 1987, the Mectizan Donation Program (MDP) is the longest-running drug donation program for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). MDP has worked with partners in 58 countries in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the Western Pacific to achieve a future free of river blindness (onchocerciasis) and lymphatic filariasis (LF or elephantiasis).
Across the globe, millions of people are at risk of infection with these debilitating illnesses.
MDP oversees the donation of Mectizan® by Merck & Co., Inc.* to eligible countries where river blindness and lymphatic filariasis are endemic. National programmes work with partners including nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to train a network of community-directed distributors to ensure that everyone living in endemic communities has access to treatment. Together these powerful local efforts are creating a world free of river blindness and LF.
*Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, N.J., U.S.A., is known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada.
We align with the following UN Sustainable Development Goals:
