We have the capacity, and the duty, to eliminate neglected tropical diseases (a leading cause of preventable global disease and poverty). An audacious elimination campaign could be implemented at a surprisingly low cost by global leaders starting this weekend when they meet at the 38th G8 Summit at Camp David. This is an opportunity to help millions of poor people with simple, concrete measures. The 17 neglected tropical diseases defined by the World Health Organization represent the most common afflictions of the “bottom billion”--the poorest people in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. ... Read More
Neglected Tropical Diseases Neglected No More?
January 31, 2012 • By • Leave a Comment
Even after centuries, it’s hard getting noticed. While they don’t have the name recognition of an epidemic like AIDS (or the Bono star power), neglected tropical diseases, some of which have been around since at least 600 B.C., are the most common serious maladies for the 2.7 billion people on earth who live on less then $2 per day. On January 30 in London, more than a dozen pharmaceutical companies, the governments of the U.S., United Kingdom, and United Arab Emirates, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank, and others announced a coordinated push to wipe out or control ... Read More
Engaging Iran Through Vaccine Diplomacy
November 30, 2011 • By • Leave a Comment
To counter Iran’s emerging nuclear threat, we might look back to a little-known but highly effective Cold War collaboration between the U.S. and Soviet Union that defused international tensions and led to one of the world’s greatest humanitarian discoveries. Today, we are on the verge of achieving the global eradication of polio. Most of this success can be attributed to the development of a safe and effective live oral polio vaccine, a discovery that first began during the 1950s in the Cincinnati laboratory of Dr. Albert Sabin. Few are aware, however, that Sabin’s initial discovery ... Read More
War and Sickness in Afghanistan
November 3, 2010 • By • Leave a Comment
The Associated Press has recently reported on findings from the World Health Organization that there has been a massive surge of a disfiguring skin disease in Afghanistan, especially in Kabul, known as cutaneous leishmaniasis. Leishmaniasis is a parasitic infection found in pockets of severe poverty in Central Asia and the Middle East. The sandfly that transmits this neglected tropical disease flourishes in conditions where there is inadequate sanitation and garbage pick up, poor housing and a breakdown in public health infrastructure. When the lesions of leishmaniasis appear on the face, ... Read More
