A strategic approach to snakebite community engagement

The medical importance of snakes There are more than 3,000 species of snakes in the world, 600 of which are venomous and 200 are considered by the World Health Organization (WHO) to be ‘medically important’.[1] WHO has classified the medical importance of snakes into two main categories: Category 1 consists of snakes that they are highly venomous, common or widespread and cause numerous snakebites. [...] By working directly with communities and sharing best practices from years of experience on the ground, the Network strengthens the capacity of community experts to undertake coordinated responses that reduce snakebite deaths and disabilities around the world. [...] The widespread use of unproven traditional treatments is a major contributed to delayed management, reporting of snakebite cases.[13] WHO’s global strategy, Snakebite Envenoming: A Strategy for Prevention and Control (2019) aims to prevent and control snakebite envenoming in order to halve the numbers of deaths and cases of disability that it causes by 2030. [...] It is our hope that this strategy can be approved by government and widely disseminated to all stakeholders to improve snakebite awareness, first aid and treatment in the communities and strengthen planning and financing of snakebite work. [...] The current state of snakebite care in Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia: Healthcare workers’ perspectives and knowledge, and health facilities’ treatment capacity.