Most of the NTD disease burden in Latin America and the Caribbean occurs in Brazil, where most of the country’s 40 million people living on less than $2 per day are infected with one or more NTD. This week, the Brazilian Ministry of Health is launching a public health campaign to diagnose and treat soil-transmitted helminths (or intestinal parasites) and leprosy in school-aged children. Over the next few days, we will be featuring stories related to the fight against NTDs in Brazil.

Recife, which is the capital city of the state of Pernambuco, is one of Brazil’s largest metropolitan areas. It is a major port and it is often called the “Venice of Brazil” because of the multiple rivers and waterways that cross the city. Current water and sanitation infrastructure projects in the city are underway to improve the health of its inhabitants and improve access to clean water.

The spread of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) can be reduced and eventually controlled by providing improved water sources to rural and urban communities at risk of infection, such as those living in the larger Recife metropolitan area. Without a clean water source, NTDs such as soil-transmitted helminths, lymphatic filariasis and schistosomiasis easily infect children while they play in rivers and lakes and adults as they work in agriculture and in the home. Investing in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure and education, along with mass drug administration campaigns, can and will greatly reduce the burden of disease caused by NTDs. The Brazilian Ministry of Health launched its national campaign to diagnose and treat STHs and leprosy yesterday, from Recife.