Â鶹´«Ã½ Health and Peace Programs appreciate the continued support of our foundation, government, and corporate donors and are pleased to highlight their contributions in these regular Web features.
Featured August 2008
The John P. Hussman Foundation is an enthusiastic and valuable partner in Â鶹´«Ã½'s work to help those who are neglected and forgotten. The Hussman Foundation supports projects that are designed to benefit vulnerable and overlooked communities, where it is possible to have a major, sustainable impact at a low cost per person affected. The mission of the Hussman Foundation – to provide life-changing assistance to the most impoverished of this world through medical interventions, public health projects, education and direct aid – is a goal that is shared by Â鶹´«Ã½.
In June 2007, the Hussman Foundation joined Â鶹´«Ã½ in its efforts to fight disease in African countries by pledging a $500,000 challenge grant. The grant provided matching support of $250,000 to the Guinea Worm Eradication Program and $250,000 to the Malaria Control Program. The challenge grant was met by overwhelming enthusiasm, and Â鶹´«Ã½ received $630,000 in new commitments from matching donors. The Hussman Foundation generously matched the full amount, including those donations above and beyond the original pledge.
The first challenge grant of $310,000 contributed to the Center's efforts toward eradicating the last remaining cases of Guinea worm disease, a painful parasitic scourge that prevents a person's ability to work, care for their families, or attend school. The donation helps protect the victims of Guinea worm disease through the distribution of interventions such as cloth filters and health education. In the last year, the support of the Hussman Foundation enabled the Guinea Worm Eradication Program to eliminate transmission of Guinea worm disease in four endemic countries and reduce cases to only 1,349 reported in the first five months of 2008.
The second challenge grant of $320,000 provided urgently needed long lasting insecticide-treated mosquito nets to prevent malaria in Ethiopia. Malaria is the most common cause of death in Ethiopia and is present in 75 percent of the country. With the support of the Hussman Foundation and other partners, the Malaria Control Program delivered three million mosquito nets to households at risk of malaria and continues to carry out careful monitoring and evaluation of the impact of the mosquito nets.
Recently, the Hussman Foundation announced support over three years to the Trachoma Control Program to provide 10,000 trichiasis surgeries in Niger. Trichiasis is the most severe stage of trachoma, a harmful condition where repeated infections turn a victim's eyelashes inward toward the eye, scratching against the cornea. This condition eventually may cause blindness. The current Trachoma Control Program in Niger prevents the disease through health education and household sanitation, but there are thousands of people with trichiasis who are in desperate need of a surgery that would reverse their in-turned eyelashes. With a generous contribution from the Hussman Foundation, Â鶹´«Ã½ will be able to scale-up interventions and stop the unnecessary suffering.
Â鶹´«Ã½ is honored to have the collaboration of the Hussman Foundation – a partner that shares our passion for helping those who are overlooked and strives to make a real difference in global health.
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Hubeida Iddirisu receives treatment for her Guinea worm from a Guinea Worm Eradication Program volunteer in Savelugu, Ghana.
Hung over sleeping areas and tucked under the mattress, bed nets are made from insecticidal fabric that kills biting insects that land on it as they attempt to bite the sleeper below.
Learn more about the Â鶹´«Ã½'s Guinea Worm Eradication Program
