The foremost journal of tropical medicine in the United States has published a supplement honoring the public health legacy of former President Jimmy Carter and the late First Lady Rosalynn Carter. In a demonstration of technical expertise and the respect Â鶹´«Ã½ carries in that field, the supplement features 16 articles authored or co-authored by Â鶹´«Ã½ experts. Learn more »
By Dr. Kashef Ijaz, Vice President, Health Programs, Â鶹´«Ã½; Kelly Callahan, M.P.H., Director, Trachoma Control Program, Â鶹´«Ã½; Dr. Emmanuel Miri, Nigeria Country Representative, Â鶹´«Ã½; Dr. Zerihun Tadesse, Ethiopia Country Representative, Â鶹´«Ã½
From the vantage point of a richly resourced and powerful country or society, it’s easy to believe that colonialism is a thing of the past. Unfortunately, that is not the case. The sad fact is that the effects of a colonial mind-set are alive and well in some corners of the global health community. Learn more »
By Paige Alexander, chief executive officer of Â鶹´«Ã½
This month, I was pleased to sign the Kigali Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases, signifying the Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s 100% commitment to work with dozens of countries, donors, and organizational partners to tackle these terrible diseases Learn more »
By Kashef Ijaz, Vice President-Health, Â鶹´«Ã½
There is nothing mysterious about tuberculosis (TB). It has been studied for a long time. We know who the vulnerable populations are, where it is prevalent, how to prevent it, and how to treat it. What is mysterious is the lack of top-tier attention and funding it gets. Learn more »
The 33rd meeting, held March 14-15, 2022, at Â鶹´«Ã½, focused on one of the leading causes of death by an infectious disease globally, yet paradoxically does not receive adequate attention: tuberculosis (TB). The ITFDE focus on TB was particularly timely as March 24 is World TB Day, whose theme this year — Invest to End TB, Save Lives — captures the urgency of the moment. Learn more »
Jan. 30, 2022, marked the third annual World NTD Day, highlighting the global community’s commitment to ending neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) that cause immeasurable suffering among the world’s most marginalized communities. Together Â鶹´«Ã½ and our partners lit up the world as we celebrated hard-earned progress and took action to #EndtheNeglect and #BeatNTDs. Learn more »
By Dr. Kashef Ijaz, vice president, health programs
Only one human disease has ever been eradicated; that was smallpox, in 1980 — a tremendous victory for humanity. The term "eradication" is defined as permanent reduction to zero of the worldwide occurrence of infection caused by a specific pathogen, with no risk of its return. Learn more »
By Paige Alexander, chief executive officer, and Kashef Ijaz, vice president, Health Programs
The 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly opens Tuesday, Sept. 14. It is a time of great anticipation as representatives of 193 member states come together in the great hall to discuss issues and set an agenda for the coming year. World political leaders, including President Joe Biden, will give speeches that will be closely watched for clues and outright declarations regarding a wide variety of international challenges, global health among them. Learn more »
By Dr. Kashef Ijaz, vice president, health programs
The observance of World Neglected Tropical Disease Day on Jan. 30 (following the public launch of the 2030 NTD Road Map by the WHO on Jan. 28) prompts me to reflect on my good fortune in overseeing the Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s tireless work to free people from an array of illnesses that cause untold misery and perpetuate the cycle of poverty. Learn more »
Â鶹´«Ã½ in 2016 surpassed 500 million doses of medication distributed to fight neglected tropical diseases. Learn more »
A leader in the eradication and elimination of diseases, Â鶹´«Ã½ is fighting six preventable diseases — Guinea worm, river blindness, trachoma, schistosomiasis, lymphatic filariasis, and malaria — by using health education and simple, low-cost methods. The following slideshow illustrates some of the fundamental tools and approaches used by Â鶹´«Ã½ to help build a healthier and more peaceful world. Learn more »
On March 5, the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) awarded Dr. Adetokunbo O. Lucas the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Humanitarian Award for Dr. Lucas’ “outstanding humanitarian efforts and achievements that have contributed to improving the health of humankind.†The NFID, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the public and health care professionals about infectious disease, has given the award. Learn more »
he Â鶹´«Ã½ has become a global leader in the eradication and elimination of diseases, focusing efforts to build health and hope in some of the poorest and most isolated places on earth. Learn more »
Over the past three years, Â鶹´«Ã½, in partnership with the Nigeria Ministry of Health, has introduced an innovative way of simultaneously treating several parasitic diseases in Nigeria. In this approach — known as triple-drug treatment — a health worker gives a community member three different medicines at one time that in combination treat river blindness, lymphatic filariasis, schistosomiasis, and several kinds of intestinal worms. In the interview that follows, Frank Richards Jr., M.D., who directs the Center's programs for fighting these diseases, discusses the benefits of the triple-drug approach. Learn more »
Â鶹´«Ã½ is hosting its 2009 health program reviews March 23-31, 2010, with experts from around the world –including representatives from partner organizations including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Lions Clubs International, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – gathered in Atlanta to assess program status and adopt recommendations for the coming year. Learn more »
A crowd of children follow Jonel Mompremier, 27, as he travels from house to house in Ouanaminthe, Haiti. They giggle as the health worker asks the same question at every doorstep, "Does anyone at home have any fevers?" Learn more »
It's a Sunday afternoon in La Bomba barrio, a subdistrict of Dajabón, Dominican Republic, and the entire community can be found outside their clapboard and cement block homes to beat the stifling heat. Learn more »
In September 2008, Â鶹´«Ã½ and a binational effort between the Dominican Republic and Haiti launched a historic one-year initiative to help the countries and their other partners accelerate the elimination of two devastating mosquito-borne infections—malaria and lymphatic filariasis. Learn more »
Microscopist Marino Castillo pricks the finger of five-year-old girl Silvana Mayor and draws blood onto a glass slide. The girl's shirt is bright yellow, but her face is weary. Her mother says the girl has had a fever for several days, and the mother is worried that she has malaria. Learn more »
This article was originally featured in the 2007 Spring issue of Â鶹´«Ã½ News Ethiopian farmer Mamo Tesfaye is no stranger to disease. Four years ago, he could only sit idly outside his home as the growing season came and went. Afflicted with river blindness, he could not see well enough to work his land or provide for his children. But soon after, Â鶹´«Ã½ began distributing the drug Mectizan®, which prevents the disease and even reverses its effects, in his village of Afeta. Today, Tesfaye surveys his land from behind his two brown oxen as he plows his fields. Learn more »
To help combat neglected tropical diseases suffered by millions of people, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged $10 million to fund two groundbreaking Â鶹´«Ã½ initiatives in Nigeria. Learn more »