The sharp end - experiences from the Tanzanian programme for the elimination of lymphatic filariasis: notes from the end of the road.

The Tanzania Lymphatic Filariasis Programme, which was launched in 2000, is, in terms of geographical coverage, among the largest disease-control programmes in Tanzania's history, currently reaching 9.4 million people in 34 districts. The issues associated with this programme's implementation are reviewed here, in the context of the various players/stakeholders involved. This article provides an insight of how the programme began and discusses key areas in the programme's design. Mainly, however, it gives some impressions of how the programme is perceived by, and how it affects, village healthworkers, patients and politicians - the people who contribute to the implementation of the programme at various levels.