Tag Archives: asia

Feeling Optimistic on the 2nd Anniversary of the London Declaration for NTDs

Africa, Asia, END7, Global Development, Latin America and the Caribbean, NTDs, , , ,

 

Photo by Esther Havens

Photo by Esther Havens

Tomorrow is the second anniversary of the London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) – the largest coordinated effort against NTDs to date. Since its launch, governments across the globe have committed to end NTDs and hundreds of millions of people have been treated for these diseases.  This week we’re recognizing the remarkable progress and momentum achieved since the formation of this global partnership where 13 pharmaceutical companies; the governments of the United States, United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates; Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; World Bank and other international organizations formed a global partnership to control and eliminate 10 NTDs by the end of the decade – a commitment that Sabin Vaccine Institute’s president Dr. Peter Hotez calls a “tipping point for the world’s poor.”

The London Declaration has served as a roadmap to improve the lives of the 1.4 billion people worldwide affected by NTDs, most of whom are among the world’s poorest. Since then,  regional committees, endemic and donor countries, NGO and pharmaceutical partners throughout the world committed to and prioritized controlling and eliminating NTDs. Eliminating NTDs is understood to be one of the most cost-effective and comprehensive ways to achieve development goals and eliminate poverty. While we still have a long way to go, measured progress has been made and we’re feeling optimistic about the route to 2020, and we know that with increased funds and political commitment, the number of people needlessly suffering from NTDs will decrease.

In Asia this past year:

  • 6 countries started the process to verify elimination of lymphatic filariasis (LF) – an extremely painful and debilitating NTD
  • 6 countries reached the global target of deworming at least 75% of school-aged children
  •  India’s Joint Secretary in the Ministry on Health, Dr. Anshu Prakash, stated the country’s commitment to the controlling and eliminating of NTDs – an important announcement considering India bears 35% of the world’s burden for NTDs
  • Following the launch of the Regional Strategic Plans for WPRO and SEARO, more than 10 countries across Asia and the Pacific updated their national plans and renewed their commitment to end NTDs, and East Timor is preparing to launch its national program this year.

In Africa:

  • The Sixth Conference of African Union (AU) Ministers of Health (CAMH6) in April called for increased domestic investment in NTD control and elimination
  • The World Health Organization’s (WHO) 63rd Regional Committee for Africa meeting passed a regional strategic plan to accelerate achievements
  • Three African countries launched national integrated master NTD plans – Nigeria in February, Ethiopia in June and Uganda in September –  totaling more than 30 African countries with such plans.
  • This spring, we that Togo is soon to become the first sub-Saharan African country to eliminate LF

And in Latin America and the Caribbean:

While the progress in these regions is promising, more needs to be done by both endemic countries and partners. If we are to truly eliminate poverty and the diseases that perpetuate it, we need sustained support from all stakeholders: endemic countries, donors, regional and global committees, NGOs and more. As managing director of the Global Network, Dr. Neeraj Mistry, recently stated in an op-ed, NTD control and elimination efforts must also integrated into broader efforts to eliminate poverty and achieve global development goals:

“By including NTDs and specific targets in the post-2015 development agenda, we will support country-led efforts to reach control and elimination goals, improve the health and well-being of hundreds of millions of people, and accelerate progress in global poverty reduction.”

Ending the 10 most common NTDs by 2020 was an ambitious goal but the progress of the last two years proves the global community is up for the challenge, and will continue to fight until NTDs no longer exist.

The Writing’s on the Wall: Philippines Marks Its Commitment to End NTDs

Asia, NTDs, the Philippines

 

Credit: Philippines DOH

Credit: Philippines DOH

By Anupama Tantri and Anna Johnston

In late August, the Philippines Department of Health held their Second National NTD Stakeholders Forum,  an impressive demonstration of commitment from all levels of the government and partners from across multiple sectors to come together to end NTDs.

Throughout the forum, participants discussed the importance of advocacy in helping the country and region achieve control and elimination goals. Their commitment was made clear by developing and signing a “Wall of Commitment,” which represents their partnership for an NTD-free Philippines.  This wall will serve as a signal and reminder of the country’s commitment to end the six most prominent NTDs in the Philippines by the 2018 deadline.

The national government worked alongside local political representation — including Governors and other Local Chief Executives – to  showcase support for this commitment to eliminate the burden of NTDs.  The local political leaders are central to the success of NTD control and elimination efforts and have a key role to play in promoting public-private partnerships, building consensus among stakeholders, and supporting community awareness and mass-media at a provincial level.

wall_comittmentThe country’s commitment to control and eliminate NTDs is extremely important and much-needed, considering the Philippines is one of the ten countries around the world that account for 70 percent of the global NTD burden.  Nearly 30 million people are at risk for lymphatic filariasis (LF) and soil-transmitted helminths (STH), translating into almost one-third of all Filipinos at risk for these diseases.  The Journal of Tropical Medicine reports that 28 out of 81 provinces are endemic for Schistosomiasis resulting in 12 million people being exposed to the disease.

While the Philippines has among the highest burden of NTDs around the world, significant progress is being made to address this burden.  The government is focused on scaling up mass drug administration, training on vector management, integrated programs that include safe water and sanitation practices, and monitoring systems.

The event was a collaborative effort by the Philippines Department of Health, United States Agency for International Development and FHI360, an international non-governmental organization.

Shining Some LIGHT on Communities with NTDs

Asia, NTDs, ,

 

Join the Lights crew hard at work filming at a school. Photo by Join the Lights.

Join the Lights crew hard at work filming at a school. Photo by Join the Lights.

 

Storytelling is at the crux of our work at the END7 campaign and our mission to control and eliminate seven neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) by 2020.

We know that before people will take action to support any issue or cause, they have to be informed, inspired and connected to it.  That’s why we’re working to ensure that people are aware of more than just the facts about NTDs, and that they also have an opportunity to see and hear the real stories of families and communities who are struggling to fight and overcome these diseases.

We were thrilled to recently meet another group that shares our same vision of making positive change through storytelling – Join the Lights.  A creative media non-profit, Join the Lights is partnering with us to document and share the progress toward controlling NTDs in Myanmar.  The country’s latest nationwide mass drug administration campaign took place just last week, with support from END7.

This wasn’t Join the Lights’ first experience with NTDs.  Film crew members Davis, Tim and Kevin shared with us that they have already needed to seek treatment for parasitic diseases like intestinal worms and schistosomiasis over the past year while they’ve been traveling to remote parts of Latin America, Africa and South East Asia.

While they’ve had their own experiences battling NTDs, traveling with END7 and our partners allowed Join the Lights to witness what NTD control efforts are like on a large scale.  This year’s campaign involved extensive logistics to deliver medicines around the country and the training and mobilization of community health workers to deliver treatments to more than 20 million people – half of them children – in a period of just one week.

We’re thankful to have the added power of Join the Lights’ storytelling expertise behind us in our efforts to control and eliminate NTDs in Myanmar and around the world.

You can follow along with them on and  to see the progress on their work, and stay tuned for us to share the final product later this year!

NTD Treatment to Reach Millions in a Country Cloaked in Mystery

Asia, END7, NTDs, ,

 

In two weeks, a school-age child somewhere in the mountainous region of Thaton, Myanmar will hold out their hand and receive a tiny white pill. They’ll take a gulp from a cup of water, swallow it, and then move on with their day.

It’s a simple transaction that lasts five seconds, but this routine provision of medicine has big implications for the health and development of Myanmar.

Neglected tropical diseases like hookworm and elephantiasis currently pose a risk to more than 80 percent of the population of Myanmar.   Common among people living in poverty, these diseases often cause or worsen health conditions like anemia and malnutrition, which affect large portions of the population in Myanmar.  The country is one of the poorest among its neighbors in the South/Southeast Asia region.

That’s why last year we supported the training of hundreds of community health workers who helped to deliver donated medicine to millions of people in schools and homes around the country.

This September, we’re doing it again. With support from END7 as well as other development partners like the World Health Organization and pharmaceutical companies like GlaxoSmithKline, the government of Myanmar is leading a mass drug administration campaign that will reach an estimated 22 million people with treatment.

Despite many challenges, Myanmar is making substantial progress in controlling and eliminating NTDs.  Lack of available resources to implement the program is the primary challenge now, and .

Burmese Nobel Laurete and chairperson of the National League for Democracy in Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi once noted, “We will surely get to our destination if we join hands.”  We know that there’s a brighter future for children in Myanmar if they’re free from NTDs.

Will you ?  Or, will you  with your friends instead?