Science Details Fallout of Cuts to Helen Keller’s Neglected Tropical Disease Work: ‘We Risk Losing the Gains We’ve Made’
A recent Science magazine article highlights the devastating impact of the US government’s decision to end funding for the prevention and treatment of neglected tropical diseases.
The article features insights from Helen Keller Intl’s Dr. Angela Weaver, Vice President of Neglected Tropical Diseases, and Modibo Keita, Neglected Tropical Disease Program Director in Mali.
“After thousands of years, we’re finally at a point where we can eliminate some of these diseases as public health threats,” says Angela, who helped launch USAID’s initiative. “All of that is now in jeopardy.”
That progress includes the elimination of trachoma in Mali and onchocerciasis in Niger, both of which Helen Keller supported. Providing preventive medication to entire communities often plays a critical role in eliminating these types of diseases. But without funding, there will be no way to get these drugs to the people who need them.
Angela also warned that pharmaceutical companies, who have historically donated the medicines used to prevent neglected tropical diseases, may halt their contributions. “They don’t want to send a drug out if they know it can’t be distributed,” she says. “That adds another tragic layer.”
According to Modibo, if mass drug administration stops, infection rates will rise again. “We risk losing the gains that we’ve made,” he says.
Also interviewed was Baba Pascal Camara, a Malian community health worker who helped lead mass drug administration campaigns alongside the Helen Keller team.
“I would ask the American government to reconsider its decision,” he tells Science. “Our community needs those drugs.”
Helen Keller was the lead implementing partner for a USAID-funded program to combat neglected tropical diseases in six West African countries. With the program’s termination, we estimate that 100 million people across these countries are now at risk.
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