“Over a billion people, one in every six people living on this planet, suffer from one or more neglected tropical diseases, or NTDs,” a VOA editorial states, noting, “These usually treatable and preventable diseases include schistosomiasis; elephantiasis; trachoma; Chagas disease; river blindness; leprosy; kala-azar, dengue, black fever and other forms of leishmaniasis; and the three most common infections — the soil-transmitted parasites hookworm, roundworm and whipworm.”

“In 2006, the non-profit, Washington-based Sabin Vaccine Institute launched the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases to highlight and mobilize resources for treating and eventually eliminating NTDs,” the editorial notes, and briefly details U.S. efforts in the fight against NTDs. The editorial concludes, “In cooperation with our partners, we will continue to work toward mitigating the impact of neglected tropical diseases on vulnerable populations, with the goal of eventually eliminating them as major threats to human health” (5/20).