USAID has recently confirmed that the fiscal year (FY) 2011 funding level for USAID’s NTD Program will be $77 million. This figure, although below the President’s original FY11 request of $155 million, is a $12 million increase from the program’s FY10 allocation of $65 million. The United States has now collectively appropriated $212 million over a six-year period toward NTD control and elimination programs, building on the generous drug donations from the pharmaceutical industry.  It is unknown what FY12 will bring under the new debt ceiling agreement and whether or not this funding level can be maintained; however, given the current economic climate, it is a huge win in the fight against NTDs!

Addressing NTDs, which began in FY06, is an objective within the Global Health Initiative (GHI), a six-year initiative unveiled by President Obama in May 2009. One of GHI’s eight priority goals is to control and eliminate a number of NTDs by 2015. Specifically, GHI hopes to use cross-sectoral collaborations (partnerships among country governments, donors, and non-governmental organizations) to “reduce the prevalence of seven NTDs by 50 percent among 70 percent of the affected population, contributing to: the elimination of onchocerciasis (river blindness) in Latin America by 2016; the elimination of lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis) globally by 2020; and the elimination of leprosy.”To learn more about GHI’s funding, check out this comprehensive factsheet.  To learn more about how to end the neglect, click here.

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