Who We Are Health

Who We Are

At the September 2006 Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting, former President Bill Clinton announced the launch of The Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases—the first-ever global effort to combat NTDs. At the time, NTD control was seen as a monumental task, with one billion people infected with and suffering from NTDs around the world. Over the last decade, several organizations on the ground had made significant progress on individual diseases, but reaching more people in need of treatment in a cost-effective way required an integrated approach to combating NTDs collectively.

In the two years since we launched the Global Network, headquartered at the Sabin Vaccine Institute, we have experienced significant growth as we deepen our commitment to fighting NTDs around the world through resource mobilization and advocacy efforts. Simultaneously, through the tremendous work of our Global Network members, hundreds of millions of the world’s poorest people are currently receiving a low-cost rapid impact package of essential NTD drugs, enabling them to break out of a devastating cycle of poverty and disease.

As their name suggests, NTDs have traditionally been neglected by the international community. Since our launch, however, we have generated incredible and exciting momentum to raise the profile of NTDs and to establish them as a critical policy issue in global health. World leaders are beginning to take action: President Bush called on the U.S. to invest $350 million to fight NTDs; UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon highlighted NTDs at the UN Elders Meeting held in Atlanta; and, for the first time ever, the leaders of the G-8 nations put NTDs on the global health agenda this past July.

Leading political figures and celebrity advocates are also demonstrating noteworthy leadership. In July 2008, we were honored to have former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services and four-term Wisconsin Governor Tommy G. Thompson announce that he would serve as a Global Ambassador for the Global Network. Actress and philanthropist Alyssa Milano, another Global Network ambassador, also continues to generously donate her time, energy, and funds to NTD control efforts.

All of these developments truly represent a paradigm shift in the way the global community understands and fights NTDs. As we become more effective in our NTD control efforts—through expanded partnerships, greater outreach capacity, and heightened public awareness and political momentum—we will come closer to eliminating poverty and allowing children and families to survive and thrive. Thus, NTD control represents a “best buy” in public health, and a key mechanism by which we can achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals.