Sabin Vaccine Institute's "Stop Neglected Tropical Disease" Campaign Highlighted at the 2007 Clinton Global Initiative.Effort to Mobilize $25 Million to Eliminate Neglected Tropical Disease Endorsed by Celebrities, Athletes, Political Leaders and Global Health Experts NEW YORK -- President Bill Clinton announced today at the Clinton Global Initiative the launch of the Sabin Vaccine Institute's campaign to eliminate thirteen diseases of poverty, known as "Neglected Tropical Diseases" (NTDs). The "STOP NTDs" campaign seeks to raise $25 million for neglected tropical disease control and prevention. Joining President Clinton in inaugurating the campaign were: Michael W. Kempner, Chairman of Sabin and President and CEO of MWW Group; Peter Hotez, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.A.P., President of Sabin; and Dikembe Mutombo, STOP NTDs Campaign endorser, NBA star (Houston Rockets center) and Chairman and President of the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation. STOP NTDs Campaign Endorsements * Campaign endorsements are featured on an online video at the STOPNTDs.org website. They include: actors Jackie Chan and Alyssa Milano; Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA); Dikembe Mutombo, NBA star; and Jeffrey Sachs, Ph.D., Director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University. About NTDs * Neglected tropical diseases are the most common affliction of "the poorest of the poor"--one billion people living on less than U.S.$2.00 per day--more than HIV/AIDS HIV/AIDS Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome and malaria combined. * NTDs blind, disfigure disfigure v. to cause permanent change in a person's body, particularly by leaving visible scars which affect a person's appearance. In lawsuits or claims due to injuries caused by another's negligence or intentional actions, such scarring can add considerably to , disable, kill and contribute to an ongoing cycle of poverty and stigmatization stigmatization /stig·ma·ti·za·tion/ (stig?mah-ti-za´shun) 1. the developing of or being identified as possessing one or more stigmata. 2. the act or process of negatively labelling or characterizing another. that leaves millions unable to work or participate in family and community life. * The seven most common NTDs--including lymphatic filariasis filariasis: see elephantiasis. (elephantiasis elephantiasis (ĕl`əfăntī`əsĭs), abnormal enlargement of any part of the body due to obstruction of the lymphatic channels in the area (see lymphatic system), usually affecting the arms, legs, or external genitals. ), schistosomiasis schistosomiasis (shĭs`təsōmī`əsĭs), bilharziasis, or snail fever, parasitic disease caused by blood flukes, trematode worms of the genus Schistosoma. (snail fever) and onchocerciasis onchocerciasis /on·cho·cer·ci·a·sis/ (-ser-ki´ah-sis) infection by nematodes of the genus Onchocerca. Parasites invade the skin, subcutaneous tissues, and other parts of the body, producing fibrous nodules; blindness occurs after (river blindness)--can be controlled and potentially eliminated safely, effectively and affordably with a "rapid impact package" of four drugs at a cost of only fifty cents per person, per year--a fraction of the cost of antiviral treatment for HIV/AIDS and multidrug therapy for tuberculosis. About STOP NTDs Campaign * Aims to increase national and global awareness of the destructive impact of NTDs and to mobilize a campaign to raise $25 million in government funding and donations from individuals, organizations and corporations. * Michael W. Kempner, Chairman of Sabin and President and CEO of MWW Group, announced at the Clinton Global Initiative that $1 million had already been raised towards the $25 million goal. * STOP NTDs Campaign's "call to action" involves the solicitation of "signatures" on an online petition--housed on a new STOPNTDs.org website (www.STOPNTDs.org) that asks the U.S. Congress to designate an NTD Day in 2008 and increase funding for NTD control and research. * Collected signatures will be used for advocacy on Capitol Hill and in global advocacy efforts to encourage other developed nations to follow the Congress' lead. Join the Fight Against NTDs * You can take action now at www.STOPNTDs.org by signing Sabin's STOP NTDs petition and making a tax-deductible, secure, online donation. About Sabin Vaccine Institute and Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases This article or section needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications. Alone, primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of this article are not sufficient for an accurate encyclopedia article. * The Sabin Vaccine Institute (www.sabin.org) is a global health, medical research organization based in Washington, D.C. that is leading the fight against diseases of poverty. * The integrated strategy for NTD control--regarded as a model for global disease control--was developed by the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases (www.gnntdc.org), a Sabin-led alliance of leading organizations dedicated to reducing poverty and improving global health through neglected tropical disease control. * Global Network members include: Sabin Vaccine Institute; Schistosomiasis Control Initiative (Imperial College of London); International Trachoma Initiative International Trachoma Initiative[1] (ITI) www.trachoma.org - is a US-based non-profit organization committed to the elimination of blinding trachoma, the most common cause of preventable blindness. ; Lymphatic Filariasis Support Centre (Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), England, was founded on 12 November 1898, by a donation from Sir Alfred Lewis Jones, a Liverpool Shipowner. The donation of £350 created the first school of its kind. ); The Task Force for Child Survival and Development; Helen Keller International Helen Keller International (HKI) combats the causes and consequences of blindness and malnutrition by establishing programs based on evidence and research in vision, health and nutrition. ; and The Earth Institute at Columbia University. |
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