Monthly Archives: January 2012

Can we rid Africa of a blinding neglected tropical disease?

NTDs

By Simon Bush, Director of Neglected Tropical Diseases at Sightsavers

In 1947 when Sightsavers’ founder, Sir John Wilson, coined the phrase river blindness to describe the almost unpronounceable disease onchocerciasis, rife amongst Africa’s river-side communities, there was little choice for those living in areas where what we now call a neglected tropical disease (NTD) was endemic.  Fear of being infected by the bite of the simulim fly, which was breeding in the rivers’ fast flowing waters and then going blind meant that villages were abandoned and with them, the rich fertile lands and people’s livelihoods.

Today, although the World Health Organization estimates that 120 million people1 are at risk of river blindness, there is hope.

For the last 25 years, drug distribution programmes to treat river blindness have been established across most endemic countries, and community-based distribution systems are used to ensure people receive an annual dose of ‘Mectizan’® (ivermectin)*. The drugs are donated by global pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. Inc. (known as MSD in the UK), and organizations like Sightsavers support the distribution.

However the real hope comes through evidence from the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC), our key partner in fighting river blindness. It has found that when taken once or twice a year for 15 to 17 years ‘Mectizan’® can help control this debilitating NTD. This, at last, puts the end in sight!  Continue reading →

NTDs take spotlight at “London Declaration” meeting

NTDs

This morning leaders from 13 pharmaceutical companies, governments of the United States, United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank and other global health organizations gathered at the “London Declaration” on NTDs meeting to announce their support for eliminating 10 NTDs by 2020.

The announcement is big. In the largest coordinated effort to date, the group announced that they will provide hundreds of millions of dollars to support R&D efforts and strengthen drug distribution and implementation programs.

Today’s event goes beyond an announcement about drug and money donations. Today NTDs are in the spotlight. Stakeholders from around the world are talking about the London Declaration and NTDs through multiple traditional and social media channels. Our very own Peter Hotez, M.D., Ph.D., president of the Sabin Vaccine Institute, published an op-ed this morning in the Huffington Post. Global Health journalist Sarah Boseley also wrote an article about the event for The Guardian.

Using hashtags like , Twitter users posted more than 350 tweets in just an hour and half. The END7 campaign was a large part of the conversation, tweeting live from the event. Continue reading →

Baroness Helene Hayman speaks at the House of Lords on NTDs

NTDs

Baroness Helene Hayman, Recent Lord Speaker of the House of Lords, United Kingdom Parliament, asks the UK government about its commitment to NTDs.

Below is an excerpt from the Baroness’ speech:

View the meeting.

View the full transcript.

Asked By Baroness Hayman

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what international support they expect to receive for the new Department for International Development initiative to combat neglected tropical diseases announced on 21 January.

Baroness Northover : The Government have just announced a fivefold increase in support for neglected tropical diseases. This will help to protect more than 140 million people worldwide. It will strengthen the UK’s partnerships with the World Health Organisation, foundations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Carter Center, other donors, pharmaceutical companies that are making drug donations, the endemic countries and non-governmental organisations.

Baroness Hayman : I welcome that very positive response from the Minister and the Government’s initiative in this field. I should declare a non-financial interest as a trustee of the Sabin Vaccine Institute, which works to develop new vaccines for diseases such as human hook worm and on mass drug administration programmes.

Does the Minister agree that diseases such as guinea worm, river blindness and schistosomiasis not only devastate the health, education and employment prospects of hundreds of millions of the world’s poorest people but impede progress towards the achievement of the millennium development goals? Given that eradication is a real possibility and that intervention is so cost-effective, will the Government do all they can to ensure that generous donors, such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and other countries continue their efforts so that we can rid the world of these truly awful diseases? Continue reading →