(MENAFN- Emirates News Agency (WAM)) By Binsal Abdulkader
ABU DHABI, 21st November 2019 (WAM) -- Physical disability caused by neglected diseases are leaving millions of people as a liability to their families and societies in mostly poor countries across the globe, an expert told the Emirates News Agency, WAM.
"Neglected Tropical Diseases, NTDs, affect 1.5 billion people across the globe, causing massive disability. These disabled people cannot work and fully contribute to their communities," said Ellen Agler, CEO of END Fund, a non-governmental organisation working to eliminate NTDs.
For example, intestinal worms in children hold them back from their school and cause anaemia and growth disorders; river blindness (also known as onchocerciasis) and blinding glaucoma cause blindness at an early age, which affect their ability to study and work, she explained in an interview on the sidelines of the Reaching the Last Mile, RLM, Forum in Abu Dhabi, held on Tuesday at the Louvre Abu Dhabi.
Therefore, these diseases make a ripple effect on education and economy of a society, Agler said.
Right now, there is a funding gap of an estimated US$300 million a year. "This is a small amount, compared to other global health needs. One of the important things about NTDs is, they can be treated for US$0.50 per person per year," she noted.
Community health workers and teachers play a major role in treating NTDs, revealed Agler from her experience of working in more than 25 countries.
"In many [poor] countries there are more schools than health clinics, and they are a good platform to capture children who need deworming medicine. Therefore, teachers play an incredible role in treating these diseases," she said.
Agler appreciated the role of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, in the global efforts against NTDs.
"Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed launched the Reaching the Last Mile Fund, RLMF, two years ago in 2017," she pointed out.
Administered by the END Fund, RLMF is a 10-year, US$100 million initiative launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the UK's Department for International Development, DFID.
RLMF aims to pave the way for global elimination of river blindness. In doing so, the Fund will also work towards lymphatic filariasis elimination as a public health problem in countries where these diseases are co-endemic.
Caused by a parasitic work, river blindness causes severe itching, skin disfigurement, and blindness among more than 197 million people in 31 countries.
In addition to sparing tens of millions of people from the risk of a painful and disfiguring disease, studies estimate that river blindness elimination in Africa could generate up to US$6 billion in economic benefits across the continent.
More than 856 million people in 53 countries are in need of treatment for lymphatic filariasis, which is caused by transmission of filarial parasites through mosquitoes.
Lymphatic filariasis damages the lymphatic system, which causes abnormal growth of body parts called elephantiasis and can lead to disability, social stigma, and isolation.
In 2018, the Reaching the Last Mile Fund delivered over 13.5 million treatments for river blindness and lymphatic filariasis, and trained 76,000 health care workers to help expand treatment and outreach.
The Fund is currently targeting river blindness elimination in seven countries: Mali, Senegal, Niger, Chad, Sudan, and Ethiopia in Africa, as well as in Yemen in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, global leaders convened at the RLM Forum in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday discussed the ways to eliminate and eradicate NTDs.
They affirmed their commitment to eradicate polio and pledged a total of US$2.6 billion, as part of the first phase of the funding needed to implement Polio Endgame Strategy 2019-2023 of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, GPEI.
Pledges are from a diverse array of donors, including US$160 million from His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, who was the host of the GPEI pledging moment at the Forum.
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