Neglected Tropical Diseases
We act in forgotten places because health is a right.
Find out moreFive things you must know about Neglected Tropical Diseases:
Five things you must know about Neglected Tropical Diseases:
Five things you must know about Neglected Tropical Diseases:
Five things you must know about Neglected Tropical Diseases:
Five things you must know about Neglected Tropical Diseases:
NTDs can be easily treated, but because they affect forgotten people, combatting them is not a priority.
At Anesvad Foundation, we focus on combatting four of these forgotten skin diseases.
Buruli ulcer
- This debilitating disease is caused by the bacteria Mycobacterum ulcerans.
- Although its forms of transmission are unknown, it is related to stagnant and unsafe water.
- It is present in 33 tropical-climate countries and is mostly concentrated in Western and Central Africa.
- Most patients are children from Sub-Saharan Africa.
- Treatment and recovery require several weeks of medication and treating wounds. In severe cases, it requires skin grafting and surgery.
- Treating it with antibiotics is cheap and effective, but if it is not treated in time it can lead to problems of morbidity, stigma and disability.
Leprosy
- Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae.
- It is transmitted by prolonged contact with people who suffer from it.
- If not treated in time, it can cause progressive and permanent skin lesions, affect the nerves, the mucosa of the respiratory tract, and eyes.
- It can be cured through multi-drug therapy and once the treatment is under way, the people affected by leprosy no longer transmit it.
- The stigma associated with leprosy in developing countries remains one of the biggest hindrances to its detection and treatment.
Yaws
- This is an infectious and disfiguring disease caused by bacteria similar to the bacteria which causes syphilis.
- It is transmitted by direct contact, via small lesions, with an infected person.
- Between 75% and 80% of patients are children under 15. It affects the skin, bones and cartilage, causing disability if not treated in time.
- It can be cured with one oral dose of azithromycin, an antibiotic found in any chemist and costing no more than 4.50 euros.
- But for insufficient resources, it could be eradicated.
Lymphatic filariasis
- Es causad
- This is transmitted in parasites called nematodes (roundworms) carried by mosquitos.
- Currently, this disease is endemic in 73 countries.
- Filarial worms are reproduced in the lymphatic system and generate larvae that circulates around the blood of the infected person.
- It can cause hypertrophy in extremities, causing pain, serious disability and social stigma.
- Preventive chemotherapy is the most effective treatment to stop its spread.
Our data from 2020
- 4 countries Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo and Benin
- 11 million people benefit from our programmes
- 37 operational projects
- + 25 partner organisations
- €6.5 million in direct investment
We combat Neglected Tropical Diseases
See projects
Giving a voice to women with disability from Togo
This project will impact their finances, health and demand a space in Togo’s society where their voices can be heard.
Detection and treatment
Resources for the Togo health care system to combat NTDs
In Togo, the health system lacks sufficient resources to combat easily treatable forgotten diseases. We are moving forward in our aim to eliminate leprosy, control the Buruli ulcer and eradicate yaws in Togo.
Detection and treatment
A national strategy to control and eliminate skin-related NTDs
Through this initiative, we are contributing to strengthening public health systems, from small aid stations in the remotest villages to health centres in reference-point towns.
Political advocacy
Support for the WHO in combatting NTDs in 14 countries of Sub-Saharan Africa
Since 2013, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has promoted an integrated approach to controlling, eliminating and eradicating 20 Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). However, over 1 billion people still suffer from them around the world, particularly in the most impoverished and forgotten places on the planet.
Detection and treatment
Awareness, prevention and early treatment of NTDs
Benin is one of the poorest countries in West Africa, a region hit by various skin-related Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), such as the Buruli ulcer and yaws, which primarily affect children.
Socio-economic wellbeing
Clean water against forgotten diseases
Chiépo is a rural community of 5,372 inhabitants in Ivory Coast with a strong presence of NTDs such as the Buruli ulcer and leprosy. Deficient hygiene and sanitation practices are also frequent here.
Socio-economic wellbeing
Change led by Zè women
Women’s leadership is key to stopping NTDs and the violence women suffer. Through this initiative, we have encountered different groups of women who became involved in awareness-raising activities from the start.
Political advocacy
LRI: The International Alliance to end leprosy
We have joined forces with the Leprosy Research Initiative (LRI), an international consortium to improve the diagnosis and research of leprosy and fund initiatives that contribute to these endeavours.
Medicines and research
Support for three laboratories researching and detecting NTDs
Medical research is also conducted in African laboratories. We carry forward work conducted by three of the main laboratories in Ghana that detect NTDs.
Socio-economic wellbeing
A clinical trial to reduce the treatment time for the Buruli ulcer by half
After decades combatting the Buruli ulcer, which affects thousands of people in over 33 countries, we are still unaware of its exact mode of transmission. We know it is related to environments with stagnant and unsafe water.
Socio-economic wellbeing
Stopping gender inequality to improve health in the Côte d’Ivoire district of Divo
We work alongside the Ivorian organisation Génération Femmes du Troisième Millénaire (GFM3) in the Divo health district. Our aim is to drive forward local development by improving living conditions for women, with a focus on fighting NTDs
Socio-economic wellbeing
Ending NTDs in Gagnoa by 2023
To combat NTDs in Gagnoa, we work in collaboration with the Ivorian Ministry of Health via their National Programmes to fight against leprosy and the Buruli ulcer.
Medicines and research
Strengthening the African network of laboratories for Buruli ulcer research
There are currently no unified protocols for detecting Buruli ulcer. Although the WHO sets guidelines for the control of NTDs, many laboratories in Africa do not have standardised protocols for sample collection and subsequent screening and diagnosis of these diseases.
Socio-economic wellbeing
Disability associated with neglected diseases
Disability associated with neglected diseases continues to be one of the most discriminatory factors for those suffering from these diseases.
Detection and treatment
New hospital infrastructures to treat disability caused by NTDs
We are supporting the refurbishment and modernisation of two leading health centres for the treatment of these neglected diseases.
Socio-economic wellbeing
A healthy and sustainable future for the women of Zio
We have partnered with JVE, a local organisation, to improve women’s quality of life, health and financial security.
Detection and treatment
Simultaneous diagnosis of five skin-related neglected tropical diseases (skin NTDs)
Through this initiative, we are contributing to strengthening public health systems, from small aid stations in the remotest villages to health centres in reference-point towns.