The Rayburn House Office Building was certainly an uncomfortable place to be last week if you were an NTD. On Thursday, June 27, NTD experts―including our very own Dr. Peter Hotez, President of Sabin―descended on Capitol Hill for a hearing titled “Addressing the Neglected Diseases Treatment Gap,” which explored the current state of play in the fight against NTDs and what more the U.S. government can do to support the growing movement behind NTD elimination.

Be sure to fast forward to the 2:10 mark to see Dr. Hotez’s testimony on NTDs:

The hearing was convened by the House Foreign Affairs’ Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations, and was presided over by Subcommittee Chairman Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ). Representatives Randy K. Weber (R-TX), Steve Stockman (R-TX), Mark Meadows (R-NC), and Ami Bera (D-CA) were also in attendance offering interesting questions and insights.

In addition to Dr. Hotez, the other witnesses included Dr. Lee Hall of NIH, Dr. Jesse Goodman of the FDA, Dr. Jay Siegel of Johnson & Johnson, and Dr. Alix Zwane of Evidence Action (which houses the Deworm the World initiative). The hearing was a rare opportunity to see so many NTD champions squished together at one table and represented a major step forward for US attention to NTDs.

The Subcommittee asked many good questions about the scope of NTDs abroad and in the US, the relationship between NTDs and stunting, how NTD impact maternal health, and opportunities for cooperation with the Global Fund. We were excited to see that Rep. Smith obviously did his homework and repeatedly referenced Dr. Hotez’s powerful testimony while questioning the other witnesses, even before Dr. Hotez had testified!  Standout quotes from Dr. Hotez to put up on your wall include:

“NTDs are the most important diseases you’ve never heard of.”

“Instead of feeding the kids, you are feeding the worms.”

“Female genital schistosomiasis may be Africa’s most important co-factor in its HIV/AIDS epidemic, yet you have never heard of it.”

We hope the hearing will lead to a more comprehensive approach to NTD control and elimination strategies, the creation of an NTD Center of Excellence, heightened US support for NTD R&D, increased monitoring of NTDs within US borders, and a new phase of Global Fund support for NTD programming.

A video of the hearing and the official testimonies of each of the witnesses can be found here. You can also read more about the hearing in Marissa Miley’s Global Post article “Calling Attention to tropical diseases on Capitol Hill.”