[post_published]
Photo credit: Leek Deng for USAID
USAID joins the Kuwait Fund, the U.K. Department for International Development (DFID), the World Bank, the END Fund, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, MSD, Sightsavers, and other organizations, which are together providing a cumulative $11.4 million in seed funding. Ultimately, in order to sustain these investments and recent progress, greater financial and political commitments from African governments will be necessary to ensure that these five diseases are controlled and eventually eliminated.
Dr. Ariel Pablos-Méndez, Assistant Administrator for Global Health, Child and Maternal Survival Coordinator at USAID said: “The fight against these disabling diseases is a global health best-buy. Expanded Special Project for Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases (ESPEN) will help countries accelerate progress against these debilitating diseases and, potentially, unlock increasing domestic resources to reach vulnerable populations. This partnership and other NTD efforts will help end diseases of extreme poverty in this generation.”