USAID Fights Neglected Tropical Diseases

On February 20, 2008,
President Bush challenged the world to reduce and eventually control and
eliminate the burden of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) as a major
threat to health and economic growth in the developing world. The new
Presidential Initiative for NTD Control will increase the United States'
commitment to NTDs from $15 million in 2008 to a total of $350 million over
five years. These funds will provide integrated treatment to more than 300
million people in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. In addition, the new
initiative will expand the targeted number of countries from 10 in 2008 to
approximately 30 by 2013.


The initiative will build on U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID) investments in NTDs control and will target seven major diseases:
lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis); schistosomiasis (snail fever);
trachoma (eye infection); onchocerciasis (river blindness); and three
soil-transmitted helminthes (hookworm, roundworm, and whipworm).



Approximately one billion people, mostly in the developing world,
suffer from one or more NTDs. Seven of these diseases - the seven targeted
by the new initiative - can be controlled and even eliminated through
targeted mass drug administration. Most of these diseases either blind,
deform, or debilitate their victims. In addition, they can contribute to
limited school enrollment, diminished childhood growth and cognitive
development, and reduced economic productivity in adults. Treating the
millions of people who suffer from NTDs will help to change these negative
effects and to improve not only personal health, but also economic growth
at large.



USAID's Commitment to Fighting NTDs



USAID began an integrated NTD control program in 2006, focusing
initially on five countries in Africa - Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Niger,
and Uganda. In its first year of implementation, this program delivered
more than 35 million NTD treatments to more than 14 million people. The
program is now expanding to Haiti, Sierra Leone, and southern Sudan, and at
least two additional countries will be added in 2008. USAID has invested
$30 million to date in this NTD control program.



Key Partnerships



Most drugs needed to treat NTDs have been donated by pharmaceutical
companies, including GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, and Pfizer.
These donations are valued at hundreds of millions of dollars each year,
and may reduce the estimated cost for other program components to between
40 cents and slightly more than one dollar per person, per year in
Sub-Saharan Africa.



In addition to the pharmaceutical industry, USAID works closely with
the Ministries of Health in each country and key international partners who
are leading efforts in NTD control.



The United States will further enhance efficiency and efficacy in the
new NTD control program by leveraging existing initiatives such as the
Basic Education Initiative, the President's Malaria Initiative, and the
President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.



The United States will work in partnership with countries struggling
with overlapping disease burdens. These countries will have the opportunity
to be selected based on a competitive grants process to receive additional
support. This will ensure an integrated country specific approach to
fighting NTDs.



For more information on USAID and its Infectious Disease programs,
visit usaid. The White House announcement may be found at
whitehouse.


U.S. Agency for International Development

usaid