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Neglecting the diseases of the poor
1 February 2012 -- What are known as "Neglected Tropical Diseases" (NTD) are no longer neglected.
On Tuesday, a number of global organisations, including 13 pharmaceutical companies, major charities and research groups including The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the World Health Organisation (WHO) signed an initiative to combat NTD.
It is being billed as the largest coordinated effort yet to fight some of the planet's most debilitating diseases - diseases that until now have largely been ignored.
An estimated $785m has been pledged to counter NTD, which receives relatively little funding in comparison to Malaria and HIV/AIDS, with the aim of wiping out, or at least controlling, some of these deadliest conditions.
A new plan has now been drawn up to combat 10 of 17 NTD over the next decade, involving a dramatic increase in drugs and treatment programmes.
NTD affect about one billion people or 15 per cent of the world population, and kill more than 500,000 people each year in the world's poorest countries.
Drug-makers have been criticised in the past for not doing enough to fight the diseases of the poor as they concentrate instead on conditions more prevalent in rich nations, such as high cholesterol.
So, what are NTD? Scientists have classified a range of 13 parasitic, bacterial and worm infections which flourish in areas with poor water quality and inadequate sanitation. They can cause disfigurement, disability, organ damage and often death.
One example is River Blindness, a disease which infects around 18 million people in sub-Saharan Africa and has blinded more than 250,000 people.
Another is Elephantiasis, which has affected more than 120 million people, mainly in Africa and Southeast Asia. It has disfigured and crippled about 40 million people.
The great tragedy is that the average cost of treating and eliminating these diseases is just $0.50 per person per year.
To see the Inside Story go to Al Jazeera
