Project Syndicate: Marginalized People’s Neglected Diseases
Carolyn Woo, president and CEO of Catholic Relief Services, and Michael W. Marine, CEO of the Sabin Vaccine Institute

“…The reason for the international community’s failure to solve [neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)] is as simple as it is ugly: for the most part, NTDs afflict only the poorest and most overlooked people. … It is critical that the U.S. continue its strong leadership on NTDs by maintaining funding for treatment programs in the federal budget, this year and in the years to come. … On the international level, we are encouraged that U.N. members were inspired to assign high priority to the fight against NTDs in the post-2015 development agenda. … One of the most basic steps we can take to overcome what [Pope] Francis calls ‘the globalization of indifference’ is to come together in support of decisive, measurable action against NTDs. Introducing a global metric to mark our progress on the path to controlling and eliminating them for good is a true demonstration of our solidarity with the poor…” (11/13).