… Could this possibly be an unsafe drug?? [even if there was little choice [best drug for this condition]

Donations of ivermectin have enabled onchocerciasis control to proceed
in endemic countries where vector control was impractical, so the African
Programme for Onchocerciasis Control was established. Its strategy using
community-directed treatment with ivermectin empowers local communities rather than health services to direct the treatment process . Communities decide whether they want treatment, how to collect and distribute tablets, and how to monitor and record coverage. Health workers provide training and supervision.
More than 120 000 communities have responded to this approach and, in 2008,56.7 million people received ivermectin (Table 5.15.1) from nearly half a million community-directed distributors. The cost per treatment is estimated at US$ 0.58 compared with saving US$ 7 per DALY averted. Table 5.15.2 shows reductions in the prevalence of O. volvulus infection and onchocerciasis in areas where in the African Programme for OnchocerciasisControl has used community-directed treatment; the table also shows that the cumulative number of DALYs gained has risen since the project began. A rapid positive impact on human health has been achieved