From January 27-30, Youth Combating Neglected Tropical Diseases (YCNTDs) participated in the first-ever World Health Organization (WHO) Youth Council in-person meeting in Geneva, Switzerland at the WHO headquarters. This meeting brought together 22 diverse youth organizations from health and non-health backgrounds from all over the world, representing the power of youth in driving positive change…
Youth Combating NTDs founder and Zimbabwean entrepreneur Gerald Chirinda unveiled his global advisory board today as he urged world leaders not to forget NTDs in the fight against Covid-19. Included in the inspirational young line up is a scientist from Gambia, an anthropologist from the Philippines and a fellow Zimbabwean, Alistair Shingirai Mukondiwa. Gerald Chirinda…
Shomy Hasan Chowdhury, from Dhaka, Bangladesh has been selected as one of just 13 young activists from across the globe forming the first ever advisory board at a youth-led organization to fight Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). The 26 year-old campaigner joins an impressive line-up of young talent which includes a scientist from Gambia, an anthropologist…
Mark Joshua Ouma, better known as Teardrops, joined speakers from the World Health Organization (WHO), government officials, NGOs and youth groups today calling on world leaders not to forget the fight against neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) – which affect one in five people on the planet. The 29-year-old Kenyan poet based in Nairobi created a…
About Neglected Tropical Diseases Neglected tropical diseases, or NTDs, are a group of debilitating infectious diseases that affect over 1.6 billion people worldwide. They disable, disfigure and sometimes kill – keeping children out of school, adults out of work and trapping communities in endless cycles of poverty. About Youth Combating NTDs Youth Combating NTDs is…
The End the Neglect campaign aims to raise awareness and call for action on the elimination of NTDs. As global health efforts to tackle the current coronavirus outbreak intensify around the world, health advocates for a lesser-known — but just as important — group of diseases launched a new global campaign. Health organization Uniting to…
The call was made by Mariatheresa Kadushi, founder of a Dar es Salaam based—Mobile Afya Info firm—Mobile Afya, when responding to a question on why young people should care about NTDs. The question was a result of presentation and discussions following a launch of two global campaigns End the Neglect and Youth Combating NTDs in…
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania – Today, Uniting to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) launched End the Neglect, a year-long campaign set to ignite a global movement to raise awareness and inspire action to end neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). The announcement took place alongside the launch of the newly formed initiative Youth Combating NTDs, a youth-led…
Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), a group of poverty-related infectious diseases, affect 1 out of 2 people in Africa, and 1.5 billion people globally. These diseases are highly debilitating, can cause life-long disability and cost billions of dollars in developing countries. Many people have never heard of these diseases despite their human and economic costs. Another…
A few months ago I had no idea what neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) were, until I went into rural Zimbabwe with a team of people on a mission to combat the five most common of these diseases: intestinal worms, schistosomiasis, lymphatic filariasis, trachoma and river blindness. I was amazed at the level of impact very little resources can make in a…
