Schistosomiasis remains a major public health challenge in Madagascar, continuing to undermine health, productivity, and social development in many regions of the country. Despite important progress in research, surveillance, and control efforts, transmission persists and preventable chronic complications, such as female genital schistosomiasis and liver fibrosis, continue to affect the most vulnerable populations.

Today, the challenge is not only the lack of evidence, but the translation of knowledge into action on a large scale. Although mass drug administration campaigns have increased access to treatment, still gaps remain in coverage, diagnostics, prevention, and care for populations beyond routine target groups. Structural and environmental constraints continue to limit the implementation of sustainable preventive measures, despite widespread awareness of the disease. Importantly, gender-related differences in exposure, social roles, and access to prevention and care shape unequal health outcomes, particularly for women and girls, highlighting the need for inclusive, gender-responsive approaches for schistosomiasis control and elimination.

The third edition of the Malagasy Conference on schistosomiasis is therefore action-oriented. It aims to shift the focus from documenting the burden of disease to operationalizing solutions, by discussing how research can be transformed into concrete policies, integrated and inclusive programmes, and field interventions with measurable impact on communities and on the national health system.

By bringing together decision-makers, national and international stakeholders, researchers, and health professionals, this conference serves as a call to collective responsibility. It seeks to align evidence with policy, accelerate implementation, and catalyse coordinated actions that can drive equitable, sustainable progress towards the control and elimination of schistosomiasis in Madagascar.