24 September 2006

USAID Funding Effort To Treat Neglected Tropical Diseases

$100 million grant will treat 40 million people over five years

 

A child leads a man affected by river blindness in Gbarnga, Liberia. (file photo ©AP Images)

By Howard Cincotta
Special Correspondent

Washington -– The United States has awarded a $100 million grant to a nonprofit research organization to make existing treatments of prevalent but often neglected tropical diseases more widespread and effective, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced September 22.

Under the USAID grant, the organization RTI International will build on existing successful treatment programs for these diseases by scaling them up to national levels where they can reach as many as 40 million of the world's poorest people over five years, according to USAID.

"This significant investment will improve the lives of millions of people afflicted with disabling conditions through effective, low-cost, mass drug administration and associated education programs," said Richard Greene, USAID director of the Office of Health, Infectious Disease and Nutrition.

The program will target seven of the most prevalent but neglected tropical diseases: trachoma (blinding eye infection), hookworm, ascaris, trichuris (three soil-transmitted worms), onchocerciasis (river blindness), schistosomiasis (snail fever) and lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis).

According to USAID, these particular diseases were chosen because they affect large numbers of people and can be treated effectively through integrated programs using safe and effective drugs that already are available.

The United States is continuing to join with other international partners in addressing the health challenges of HIV/AIDS and a number of other infectious diseases. For example, President Bush's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief, launched in 2003, is the largest international health initiative dedicated to a single disease in history. This effort is designed to support and strengthen the AIDS-fighting strategies of many nations, including 15 heavily afflicted countries in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. (See fact sheet.)

In September, one year after formation of the International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza, the United States boosted its contributions to more than $390 million. (See related article.)

Among other recent health initiatives, U.S. government agencies and private-sector organizations are supporting efforts to eradicate polio in remote areas of Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia. (See related article.)

For more information on U.S. policies, see Health, HIV/AIDS and Partnership for a Better Life.

The full text of the announcement on neglected tropical diseases and more information on USAID's global health programs are available on the agency's Web site.