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NTDs and the US elections

December 6th, 2011

By: Alanna Shaikh

The United States is the largest supporter of neglected tropical disease programs in the world. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) administers a long standing – and successful – program for NTD control, with a particular focus on rapid impact packages of NTD drugs. In a recent article on PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Dr. Peter Hotez points out that if we want to maintain the global leadership, NTD advocates have some work to do.

If President Obama is elected to a second term, we can safely assume that support for NTD programs will continue. Both he and Secretary Clinton have shown their commitment to fighting neglected tropical diseases. However, there is no guarantee of re-election. The Republican presidential candidates will need to be educated on the importance of addressing NTDs, as well as being made aware of the vital role that the US plays in combating them.

Dr. Hotez is right, of course. The NTDs are, well, neglected. Your average presidential candidate is unlikely to know much about this particular corner of global health. Worms and obscure bacterial infections aren’t exactly glamorous. I think, too, that this would be a great opportunity to educate the general public about neglected tropical diseases and why we should support the programs that combat them. The Republican presidential candidates are likely to share the same general concerns and questions about NTDs as interested members of the public have as well.

The question is, how do we do that?

 

Alanna Shaikh is an expert in health consulting, writing about global health for UN Dispatch and about international relief and development at Blood & Milk. She also serves as a frequently contributing blogger to ‘End the Neglect.’ The views and opinions expressed by guest bloggers are not necessarily the views and opinions of the Global Network. All opinions expressed here are Alanna’s own and not those of any employer or the US government.

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Posted in NTDs, Politics

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You Give Me Fever….

December 5th, 2011

Today we feature a repost from from  the blog Global Health Policy at NYU-Wagner. Maintained by the students of Karen Grepin’s global health policy course at the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University, today’s contributor writes about dengue in Latin America, as well as including an overview of the seven most common neglected tropical diseases:

Two years ago, my co-worker traveled to Colombia. She was so excited to go and talked about it for weeks. Her plans entailed hiking on a hidden track through the jungle, touring the countryside and having amazing food. The day she was due to come back to work from her vacation, she was a no show. I was informed that she had contracted dengue while in Colombia and was out sick all week. My head was racing with questions: What? How was that even possible? What EXACTLY was dengue? I knew absolutely nothing about this disease, but it sounded worse than anything I could possibly imagine.

Aedes aegypti - vector for dengue fever

My research informed me that dengue is a mosquito borne infection that causes a severe flu-like illness and can potentially lead to deadly complication called dengue hemorrhagic fever. Mosquitoes became a huge concern for me especially because of my impending trip to Dominican Republic. Dengue was on a rise that year and I was prepared to fight that battle with bug repellant.  The entire vacation I reeked of bug repellent, but I didn’t get one mosquito bite.  Contracting dengue was my biggest fear and it still is. Dengue is officially on my radar!

The seven most common Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) are ascariasis, hookworm, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, schstosomiasis, trachoma and trichuriasis. I thought dengue sounded scary, but the top seven sounded worse. Click here to continue reading.

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Posted in Latin America and the Caribbean, NTDs

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Nurturing the seeds of democracy in Burma

December 1st, 2011

Burmese Women. Photo credit: Google Images

By Peter Hotez, M.D., Ph.D.

Allied troops fighting in Burma during World War II brought home horror stories – and lifelong infections – of the tropical diseases endemic to Southeast Asia.  More than 60 years later, Burma continues to be severely affected by malaria as well as some of the most devastating neglected tropical  diseases (NTDs) found anywhere in the world.  Following decades of harsh military rule, it is no coincidence that Burma is also one of the few remaining deeply impoverished countries in Southeast Asia, with a human development index on par with Haiti and many sub-Saharan African countries.  Controlling and eliminating the country’s diseases of poverty hold the key to cultivating a healthier, and more empowered, citizenry in Burma.

As part of the United States’ overall effort to bridge the half-century political divide between our two nations, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s current’s visit to Burma is a great opportunity to prioritize extremely low cost medical treatments that will help Burma’s population overcome chronic parasitic infections and the barriers to prosperity that these diseases present.

Although access to the country is limited, based on recent health evaluations of refugees fleeing into Thailand we know that many people in Burma suffer severely from intestinal worm infections, elephantiasis, dengue, typhus and other NTDs. Girls and pregnant women are disproportionately affected.  Reports last year from the Public Library of Science (PLoS) indicate that malaria and NTDs are the leading causes of fever in pregnant women on the Thai-Burmese border, while hookworm, found in half of the women who are pregnant, is a major cause of low birth-weight among newborns.  » Read more: Nurturing the seeds of democracy in Burma

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Posted in Asia, NTDs

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Foreign Aid Is Not a Rathole

December 1st, 2011

Photo credit: Google Images

On this World AIDS Day, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, a special adviser at the White House Office of Management and Budget, contributes an op-ed to The New York Times. Dr. Emanuel discusses the progress we’ve made using foreign aid in the fight against HIV/AIDS, along with urging the need for more attention and efforts dedicated to addressing neglected tropical diseases. Check out the excerpt below, or click here to read the full op-ed on The New York Times:

“Many Americans feel that foreign assistance is like money poured down a rathole. The United States contributes more money every year — spending nearly a third of all global health aid — while tangible results in developing countries can be hard to see.

But the “rathole” argument is dead wrong. Indeed, this World AIDS Day, Dec. 1, provides a perfect opportunity to assess the results of our global health assistance efforts and to recognize the tremendous amount we have accomplished.”

 

 

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Posted in Global Health

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