Dubai: Dubai Cares has joined an alliance aiming to eradicate 10 Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) by 2020.
The philanthropic organisation, which implements primary education programmes, will introduce NTDs control as part of its school health and nutrition programme.
NTDs, which include river blindness, blinding trachoma, leprosy, and sleeping sickness, are behind rising rates of absenteeism among primary school-age children in endemic countries.
Dubai Cares CEO Tareq Al Gurg told Gulf News NTDs “disproportionately affect the world’s poorest and most vulnerable populations. Historically, these diseases have a very low priority on the global health agenda, despite affecting one billion lives”.
Countries with widespread NTD problems in Asia, South America and Africa will be reached under the new push to vastly reduce or root out the diseases.
NTDs thrive where access to clean water and sanitation are limited. Studies have shown that reducing these diseases improves intellectual development in children, increases school enrolment, and leads to increased economic productivity in the adult workforce.
Dubai Cares recently joined an international group of public and private establishments working to fight NTDs.
It entered the alliance on Thursday in Paris during an event titled “Uniting to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases: A Conversation on Progress”.
The alliance brings together drugs companies, NGOs, and national governments.
Al Gurg said: “For instance, pharmaceutical companies are helping with drug donations as well as research and development efforts; foundations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are helping with roll-out and Dubai Cares will be championing NTDs from the integrated school health and nutrition programme angle.”
He added: “Our main priority as an organisation is education and we see NTDs as contributing factor to absenteeism and school drop-outs.”
Since the 2012 London Declaration, pharmaceutical companies involved in the effort have met all requests for needed drugs and endemic countries are taking ownership of NTD programmes, Al Gurg said.
The 2012 London Declaration created a global front led by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, with 13 leading pharmaceutical companies, global health organisations, private foundations, donors, and governments pledging support to reduce the global burden of NTDs.
More than 70 countries have launched large-scale, low-cost national treatment plans for multiple diseases, leading to “immense progress” in endemic countries.
Al Gurg participated in a panel discussion in Paris, which addressed the progress and challenges in combating 10 NTDs by 2020, as part of World Health Organisation goals to control or eliminate these diseases by the end of the decade.
