NPR: Funding Cuts Threaten Decades of Progress in the Fight Against Debilitating Diseases

A story from NPR details the incredible progress Mali has made in fighting neglected tropical diseases – but warns this legacy is now at risk due to cuts to US government funding. 

NPR’s science correspondent Jonathan Lambert introduces readers to Diango Tounkara, a community health hero who has spent decades delivering preventive medicine to her neighbors in the Kayes region of Mali. 

The program Diango supported, which was funded by the US government and implemented by Helen Keller Intl in six West African countries, delivered remarkable results. In 2023, Mali eliminated trachoma and was getting closer to eliminating another neglected tropical disease: lymphatic filariasis, which causes debilitating swelling of body parts. 

To achieve this success, the program leveraged donated medicines and hundreds of thousands of community health volunteers, like Diango, to carry out nationwide drug distribution campaigns. 

According to Diango, community members looked forward to the annual campaigns because they understood the benefits of preventing and eliminating blinding and disabling diseases that had persisted for generations. 

“It is a kind of celebration before the campaign starts,” she tells NPR. 

And, as Helen Keller Intl’s Dr. Angela Weaver noted, the program “was one of the most effective and cost-efficient programs that USAID has ever had.” 

Over its two decades of operation, the program delivered more than 3.3 billion treatments to over 1.7 billion people and helped 14 countries eliminate at least one disease.  

But that progress is now under threat. In January, the program abruptly shut down due to cuts to US government funding. Now, according to NPR, the future is uncertain.

Here is an excerpt from the article: 

“I worry that neglected tropical diseases are going to be even more neglected,” says Weaver. “Countries now have fewer resources, and they’re going to have to make really difficult decisions,” she says. Non-profits like Helen Keller are working to raise additional support, with some success. But without the stability of federal funds, they have been forced to scale back their activities.”  

Read the story on NPR here: The fight to beat neglected tropical diseases faces a new challenge