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