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Image credit http://end.org Child receiving medications by End Fund/Mo Scarpelli
Health is Wealth
Health is wealth, yet so many people are unable to benefit from it. Throughout the years, various research studies have examined the effect that healthy citizens have on a nation’s economic well-being. Recently, anew report by the Economist Intelligence Unit revealed that $3.2 billion in productivity could be gained between 2021 – 2040 by eliminating two neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), soil-transmitted helminths or intestinal worms and schistosomiasis (bilharzia) in Ethiopia – where at least 75 million people require treatment for at least one NTD.
NTDs are a group of parasitic, bacteria, and viral diseases that affect more than 1.7 billion people, particularly, the most vulnerable and marginalized people in society. Mass drug administration campaigns are conducted in disease endemic countries in order to reduce morbidity, which in turn contributes to an i
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Authors: Kimberly Kamara, Associate Vice President, Programs; and Tegan Mosugu, Associate Director, Public Affairs
A world free of parasitic, bacterial, and viral infections is within reach as long as cross-sector stakeholders are able to rally together to achieve national and global targets aimed at eliminating the scourge of these diseases. In creating such a desirable future, it is critical that an integrated approach is used to treat people so that nobody is left behind and those with the greatest need are served.
Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) – intestinal worms, bilharzia (schistosomiasis), trachoma, etc – are a group of parasitic, bacterial and viral infections that affect more than 1.7 billion people, globally. Approximately, 40% of the global burden can be found in Africa alone, and the countries with the highest burden of NTDs are the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Nigeria, and Ethiopia. One of the most effective ways to control and eliminate the