Monthly Archives: September 2013

Introducing END7’s September Student of the Month: Arjun Arora

END7, Student Advocacy,

 

Arjun poses with his girlfriend who sparked his passion for END7.

Arjun poses with his girlfriend who sparked his passion for END7.

 

As END7 expands its outreach to students, we’d like to highlight a different young person every month who has joined our campaign. We are proud to share a reflection from our September Student of the Month, Arjun Arora, who raised more than $2,100 for END7 by organizing a fun and creative “dating auction” where people could bid to go on dates with generous volunteers.

Arjun shares, “I go to Simon Fraser University and am pursuing my major in Health Sciences and a minor in Psychology. I first heard of END7 in early July when my girlfriend showed me the “How to Shock a Celebrity” video. Little did I know that her love for Tom Felton would be the start of my love for END7! After watching the video, I decided to organize a dating auction fundraiser. We expected most of our “singles” to sell for around $35, but many went for over $100! Our highest bid was $200.”

Arjun also also shared with us his reasons for being so passionate about END7.

“The reason I love this cause is because all our lives we have been told that one person, with enough passion and charisma, can help make a difference in the world. I have always thought that this was easier said than done. But that is exactly why I love END7 – they make it so easy to be that person making a difference in the world. Even if you don’t have the time to hold a fundraiser yourself, just making a small donation means you are making a difference in the world. You are letting a mother see her daughter smile one more time, you’re letting a kid have the ability to go to school and make friends, you’re helping allow a father to go to work without worrying that his son will be lying ill in bed all day. You are making a difference with END7.”

We are so deeply thankful for the commitment Arjun and other students have made to this cause. If you are ready to take your passion for END7 to the next level like Arjun and his friends, on Facebook or at to learn how you can get involved!

Calling All Collaborators to Eliminate Intestinal Worms in Children

WASH, WHO, , , ,

 

Pictured from left to right: John A. Jufuor, President of the Republic of Ghana (2001-2009) and Global Network NTD Special Envoy; Bill Lin, director of Worldwide Corporate Contributions at Johnson & Johnson; Dr. Lorenzo Savioli, director of the Department of NTDs at WHO; Kathy Spahn, President and CEO of Helen Keller International (HKI); and Richard Besser, chief health and medical editor at ABC News

Pictured from left to right: John A. Kufuor, President of the Republic of Ghana (2001-2009) and Global Network NTD Special Envoy; Bill Lin, director of Worldwide Corporate Contributions at Johnson & Johnson; Dr. Lorenzo Savioli, director of the Department of NTDs at WHO; Kathy Spahn, President and CEO of Helen Keller International (HKI); and Dr. Richard Besser, chief health and medical editor at ABC News

“What we want to do is produce quality of life for the people.” – H.E. John A. Kufuor, President of the Republic of Ghana (2001-2009) and Global Network NTD Special Envoy

We have been anxiously awaiting the United Nations General Assembly’s (UNGA) sixty-eighth kick-off session, “The Post-2015 Development Agenda: Setting the Stage.” Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) have impeded critical breakthroughs in development efforts for too long – plaguing one in six people globally, including half a billion children. While we have the medicine, which costs just 50 cents per person per year, we must garner greater attention, collaboration and political will to see the end of horrible suffering in the world’s most neglected communities.

We are certainly hopeful.

It was fitting that in the height of UNGA meetings, the Global Network, Johnson & Johnson, Children Without Worms, The Task Force for Global Health and the World Health Organization (WHO) co-hosted a conversation to identify innovative ways we can eliminate soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections – one of the key diseases undercutting many Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

“Business as usual” simply wouldn’t do! So, our event, “Innovate & Integrate: Multi-sectoral Approaches for Eliminating Intestinal Worms in Children,” set out to explore how and why organizations in the fields of NTDs; water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH); nutrition; maternal and child health; and education can collaborate on this issue to ensure lasting advancements.

 

Bill Lin presents on NTDs and WASH

Bill Lin presents on NTDs and WASH

, director of Worldwide Corporate Contributions at Johnson & Johnson, opened with his experience growing up in a rural area outside of Hong Kong. Forever imprinted on him was the constant chanting of “wash your hands” and “don’t put your hands in your mouth.” “You [couldn’t] get clean water just by flipping a faucet.” Bill explained.

Bleak living conditions then and now have caused the perpetual transmission of intestinal worms. Therefore, we must not only distribute medicines to control STH infections but also work with partners to stop them from spreading. “There is a clear need for the education [and] health sectors to work together” to encourage behavioral changes.

, chief health and medical editor at ABC News then asked tough questions to our panelists: H.E. John A. Kufur, former president of the Republic of Ghana (2001-2009); Dr. Lorenzo Savioli, director of the Department of NTDs at WHO; and Ms. Kathy Spahn, President and CEO of Helen Keller International (HKI).

Recognizing that we were talking about “a disease that isn’t killing a lot of people” during a “busy week in New York,” Dr. Besser asked Dr. Savioli, “why does [STH] deserve attention?”

Optimistically, Dr. Lorenzo responded, “We can do something about it. We are eradicating guinea worm, we have the drugs to treat intestinal helminths … we can really interrupt transmission. We can make a difference with the tools we have in our hands.”

President Kufuor chimed in, “our goal is to seek solutions.” Speaking from his experiences in making NTD and WASH advancements as President of Ghana, including tremendous strides in the effort to eliminate guinea worm, President Kufuor noted that behavior change was critical, including “show[ing]  [people] how to boil water.” President Kufuor also stressed that the successes he oversaw were due to implementing policies that educated the public and provided infrastructure, and knowing when to “seek international help.”

Dr. Besser then asked Kathy, “Why does HKI think this is an important problem to tackle?”

Kathy answered that STH infections are “incredibly disabling” and threaten worker productivity, children’s attendance in school and the ability of children to achieve. We’re “really talking about the posterity of the country unless these diseases are tackled,” Kathy said.

Dr. Besser then asked President Kufuor about the widespread impact of intestinal worms. President Kufuor stated, “Worms prevent kids from getting full benefits. … The economy isn’t well when people have worms. … We tackle the problem from the source.”

President Kufuor also touched on a devastating consequence of STH infections: the impact on pregnant women and their babies: “Even with mothers, if they do not look after themselves well with what they eat, what they drink, then the fetus will not mature the way it should.”

Addressing the economic impact, Dr. Besser asked Dr. Savioli, “What evidence is there that these type of control efforts make a difference?” Dr. Savioli recognized that there is huge economic growth occurring in Africa, and that “those countries doing best in the African continent with NTDs are the ones that are doing better economically.”

Asking Kathy about whether it’s “idealistic to think that you can accomplish cross-sector integration,” Dr. Besser said, “Can it happen?” To which Kathy responded, “Nothing can happen unless you work cross-sectorally.”

Wrapping up the interviews, Dr. Besser asked, “If the MDGs don’t list NTDs, what does that mean?”

Dr. Savioli noted, “We need to put pressure to make sure that happens” and that, thanks to “a unique relationship between international organizations, NGOs, endemic states and the private sector,” we have a “historically unique” opportunity “in the history of public health.”

Kathy shared that we need to go beyond the drugs, giving the example of HKI’s partnership with Johnson & Johnson to develop curriculums in education – hand washing, face washing – in Cambodia to realize tremendous successes.

It’s no wonder that after the interviews and audience Q&A, Dr. Besser said, he has “about 50 more questions [he] would love to ask” and that we’re “fortunate to have such different perspectives on this problem.” STH is different in that the solution is known, and that “it’s a problem of will and resources to implement the solution,” Dr. Besser concluded.

In his closing remarks, Dr. Savioli stated, “We have the scientific evidence that when you treat people regularly, the morbidity goes down.” However, “countries have to be at the center of it” because “countries that have done well have performed better” in economic, health and other development markers.

“You deprive the country if you don’t do it,” Kathy closed.

Thanks to all for such an engaging, thought-provoking event! We look forward to seeing how cross-sectoral collaborationcan make a difference in STH control and elimination in children.

NTDS Take the Stage at the Social Good Summit

END7, Global Development, Global Health, NTDs, post 2015, poverty, Public Health, , ,

 

(from right to left) Dr. Neeraj Mistry, managing director of the Global Network; David Harris, executive creative director of Draftfcb in London; and Peter Koechley, co-founder of Upworthy, present at the Social Good Summit in New York City

(from right to left) Dr. Neeraj Mistry, managing director of the Global Network; David Harris, executive creative director of Draftfcb in London; and Peter Koechley, co-founder of Upworthy, present at the Social Good Summit in New York City.

 

“We have a wonderful public-private partnership with the pharmaceutical industry who are donating all the drugs, and we have great technical experts that actually help to ensure that these drugs get to the people that require them. So now we need to create the movement to ensure that it’s seeded in the public consciousness, and that enables us to influence policy and get more money for the cause for essentially a voiceless community.” – Dr. Neeraj Mistry, managing director of the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases, at the Social Good Summit

Yesterday, at the Social Good Summit (SGS) in New York City, the Global Network had a phenomenal opportunity to join innovative and inspiring leaders in technology, media and policy from all over the world to discuss how we can accelerate progress on development issues such as poverty, education, equal rights, girls and women, and climate change by 2030.

We were honored to be part of that fascinating conversation hosted by the 92 Street Y, Mashable, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, among others, by speaking on a panel, “Is shock value a way to spur social good?” Our presenters, Dr. Neeraj Mistry, managing director of the Global Network; David Harris, executive creative director of Draftfcb in London; and Peter Koechley, co-founder of Upworthy, shared how our END7 “” video relied on raw emotion, celebrity engagement, social media – and of course shock value – to catapult awareness for NTDs and prompt thousands of people to take action.

Neeraj began by talking about the two ways in which people essentially react: emotionally and rationally. On the one hand, people react with their guts, knowing how they feel about something immediately. Conversely, sometimes people react slowly about something and are able to make calculated decisions in response. With this in mind, Neeraj explained, the Global Network “decided to fight the [NTD] cause on both fronts.”

Only minutes into the panel, we discovered very few people in the audience actually knew about NTDs and how they afflict over a billion people worldwide, most of whom live on less than $1.25 a day. In fact, just a few hands out of hundreds of people went up when Neeraj asked about their familiarity with them!

"How to Shock a Celebrity" plays in front of the audience

“How to Shock a Celebrity” plays in front of the audience

So, just as we introduced NTDs to hundreds of thousands of people earlier this year with our END7 “Celebrity Shocker” video, we grabbed people’s attention at SGS by playing the video for them. What we saw and heard was so moving – and quite telling: gasps, hands over people’s mouths, jaws dropping and sheer sadness on their faces.

David then provided insights about the creative process behind END7 and our PSA. He explained, “Our biggest challenge was that these aren’t very user friendly images to put in front of a public. And our challenge was really that no one knows what these diseases are.” The key for him, therefore, was to “create a little bit of suspense and engagement” that would build empathy and emotions “that connect us and drive us to do something.”

Though END7 has an ambitious goal – seeing the end of the seven most common NTDs in seven years (by 2020) – it’s actually possible. As David said, “the really shocking thing is that there’s a cure for such a small amount of money.” For just 50 cents, we can treat and protect one person per year with a packet of pills donated by the pharmaceutical industry. “The idea is that anyone, in their small way, can contribute to the campaign,” David noted, and that we can all help alleviate widespread suffering and poverty caused by these horrific diseases with just a simple, small donation.

As Peter described, a successful public awareness campaign for any organization isn’t just about the creative assets, it’s also very much about the strategy behind sharing them, building an audience and encouraging people to act on what they’ve seen.

“The type of emotion matters,” Peter said, noting that a goal of campaigns should be to spur emotions that “get people to sit forward in your chair to do something.” These include outrage, shock, happiness and inspiration. Peter and others at Upworthy felt compelled to share the video because it not only hit on these powerful points but also that “if [treatment is] just 50 cents…we can help a few hundred thousand more people see this and help make a difference.”

Wrapping up the discussion, Neeraj noted that tackling NTDs is one of the most cost-effective public health interventions out there today. And, because NTDs are linked to many of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), if we address them, we can make improvements to many of the challenges other SGS presenters highlighted, such as water and sanitation, access to education, and maternal and child health.

“We see the END7 campaign as a vehicle to actually raise attention to these [neglected] communities, and once we mainstream that in our collective consciousness, like every movement, we’ll be able to tackle this issue.”

Thank you again to the Social Good Summit for inviting us to be part of this innovative and thought-provoking global discussion! We were inspired by so many presenters, including Malala, Magatte Wade, Barbara Bush, and so many others, and we look forward to seeing the resulting impact in the coming years!

Join us by learning more at end7.org and watching the panel below. Together, we can see the end.

Your Voice Travels to NYC

NTDs, ,

 

Three weeks ago we asked you to speak out for the world’s poorest people suffering from neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) by signing our letter addressed to the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. We were overwhelmed by your response, and thanks to YOU, we received nearly 3,000 signatures and the number is still growing!

Ban Ki-moon is set to take the stage at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in less than a week, and your letters will arrive in New York City just in time. Together, we made our message clear that efforts to treat and eliminate NTDs enhance countries’ economic performance and contribute to broader development goals like better access to education, poverty reduction,  and improved maternal and child health.

We received about 3,000 signatures! Here I am sizing up the pile.

We received about 3,000 signatures! Here I am sizing up the pile.

The Post-2015 Development Agenda, guided by the United Nations, will determine how the world tackles poverty and global development in the years to come.  And as we’ve noted, NTDs were already included in the High Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda’s report — an important first step.  But recognizing of the importance of including NTDs  by Ban Ki-moon and others over the next few months  be a huge win for the NTD community and the billion plus people suffering from NTDs worldwide. We hope you’ll be listening with us.

P.S. We already mailed our letter, but this action is not over! You can still sign the letter if you haven’t already and share the action with your friends. Momentum for NTD treatment is growing, but we can make this wave even bigger!