Today the Global Network announced its partnership with the Fundación Mundo Sano and the Instituto de Investigaciones en Enfermedades Tropicales in efforts to fight Strongyloides and other Soil-Transmitted Helminths (STH) in Argentina by implementing a new pilot project. This project will begin in the Department of Oran in the Province of Salta, Argentina, and will include data collection in the areas of impact, monitoring, and evaluation of mass treatment for both Strongyloides and STH to add to current and ongoing programs throughout Latin America. The pilot will act as a starting point for the implementation of community-based interventions to address the public health burden of NTDs on poor populations in Argentina.

We are thrilled to embark on this new journey with Fundación Mundo Sano and the Instituto de Investigaciones en Enfermedades Tropicales! This development is especially exciting because Stronglyloides are one of the most “neglected” tropical diseases (NTDs), particularly in Latin America where 200 million people suffer from NTDs. Children are especially susceptible – 30 percent of preschool age in this region are affected by Stronglyloides, and more than 50 percent are infected by hookworm. Furthermore, Strongyloides is rarely targeted for community based interventions (due to difficulties in diagnosis), and this pilot program will attempt to overcome this hurdle, deeming the project that much more paramount. Doing these community based interventions is all a part of the process for controlling and eliminating NTDs; it’s important to involve the affected communities and empower them with the notion that they are in control of their own health. And for that reason and many more, we feel that this brand new partnership brings us that much closer to ridding the world of NTDs for good!