END Fund

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The END Fund (Ending Neglected Diseases) is a private non-profit organisation dedicated to combating the five most common neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) that cause up to 90% of the NTD burden in Sub-Saharan Africa. [1]

Contents

The fund also helps deliver treatments for children and adults and provide surgeries for NTD-related disabilities, and provides training for healthcare workers in remote communities. As of 2022, the END Fund had provided for 96,018 surgeries and $2.34b worth of treatments since 2012. [2]

History

The END Fund was founded by Legatum in 2012. In 2006, prior to the creation of The END Fund, Legatum funded neglected tropical disease programs in Rwanda and Burundi. Over four years, eight million people were treated for diseases such as intestinal worms, schistosomiasis and lymphatic filariasis. [3]

2012-2016

In 2012, following the programs launched in 2006, the END Fund was founded by Legatum to scale up the support for programmes to treat neglected tropical diseases.

Ellen Agler was named as Chief Executive Officer. [4]

In 2014, The END Fund announced they received a $7 million three-year grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to fund the work of the neglected tropical diseases programs in Angola. [4]

2017-2019

From 2017 to 2019, the organisation received $3 million from Alwaleed Philanthropies to support the work to control and eliminate NTDs in Africa and the Middle East. [5]

In 2017, the END Fund partnered with the Zimbabwean Ministry of Health and Child Care, Econet Global and Higherlife Foundation to launch a campaign which sent text messages to millions of people in Zimbabwe informing them of ongoing mass drug administration programs for NTDs.

In 2018, Virgin Unite partnered with the END Fund to help distribute NTD treatments. [6]

In 2019 the END Fund launched the Deworming Innovation Fund which aims to end intestinal worms and schistosomiasis that affect children in Ethiopia, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, and Kenya. [7]

COVID-19 Pandemic

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, The END Fund partnered with The Luminos Fund in 2020 to support their efforts in rural Liberia through its COVID-19 Response Fund. [8]

2021-present

In June 2022, in response to the Kigali Declaration on NTDs, The END Fund committed $161m to support The World Health Organization's 2021–30 road map for NTDs. [9]

In 2023, British business magnate Sir Richard Branson published a blog in support of the END Fund and The Audacious Project’s [10] Deworming Innovation Fund which aims to end parasitic worm infections. [11]

In 2023, The END Fund worked on two photography projects partnering with the WHO [12] and Photo Vogue [13] to highlight the impact of Neglected Tropical Diseases on individuals and communities. [14]

Funded Programs

The END Fund has three funds as investment opportunities for private philanthropists, foundations, and corporations. [15]

Partnerships

The END Fund receives financial support from a wide variety of corporations, non-profit organisations, individual donors and investors. Significant partnerships include Virgin Unite, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Alwaleed Philanthropies, The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, The Children's Investment Fund Foundation, Good Ventures and Legatum. [16]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schistosomiasis</span> Human disease caused by parasitic worms called schistosomes

Schistosomiasis, also known as snail fever, bilharzia, and Katayama fever, is a disease caused by parasitic flatworms called schistosomes. The urinary tract or the intestines may be infected. Symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloody stool, or blood in the urine. Those who have been infected for a long time may experience liver damage, kidney failure, infertility, or bladder cancer. In children, it may cause poor growth and learning difficulty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helminthiasis</span> Any macroparasitic disease caused by helminths

Helminthiasis, also known as worm infection, is any macroparasitic disease of humans and other animals in which a part of the body is infected with parasitic worms, known as helminths. There are numerous species of these parasites, which are broadly classified into tapeworms, flukes, and roundworms. They often live in the gastrointestinal tract of their hosts, but they may also burrow into other organs, where they induce physiological damage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neglected tropical diseases</span> Diverse group of tropical infectious diseases which are common in developing countries

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a diverse group of tropical infections that are common in low-income populations in developing regions of Africa, Asia, and the Americas. They are caused by a variety of pathogens, such as viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and parasitic worms (helminths). These diseases are contrasted with the "big three" infectious diseases, which generally receive greater treatment and research funding. In sub-Saharan Africa, the effect of neglected tropical diseases as a group is comparable to that of malaria and tuberculosis. NTD co-infection can also make HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis more deadly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legatum</span> Private investment firm headquartered in Dubai

Legatum Limited, also known as Legatum, is a private investment firm, headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Legatum is a partnership that uses its own funds to invest globally. The firm also invests in activities to promote entrepreneurship and free enterprise as well as anti-slavery, health and education initiatives.

The Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases is an advocacy initiative of the Sabin Vaccine Institute dedicated to raising the awareness, political will, and funding necessary to control and eliminate the most common Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs)—a group of disabling, disfiguring, and deadly diseases affecting more than 1.4 billion people worldwide living on less than $1.25 a day.

Lorenzo Savioli is a senior United Nations civil servant and the director of the Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases at the World Health Organization Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Hotez</span> American scientist, pediatrician, and advocate

Peter Jay Hotez is an American scientist, pediatrician, and advocate in the fields of global health, vaccinology, and neglected tropical disease control. He serves as founding dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine, Professor of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology & Microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine, where he is also Director of the Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development and Endowed Chair in Tropical Pediatrics, and University Professor of Biology at Baylor College of Medicine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust</span>

The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust is a foundation established in 1999 and administered by four trustees selected by Leona Helmsley. The Trust supports a wide range of organizations, with a major focus on health and medical research, in addition to conservation, education, social services and cultural access.

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Unlimit Health is an international organisation working to end parasitic disease. The organisation partners with affected countries, sharing evidence and expertise to eliminate preventable infections, through technical and financial support to ministries of health, in line with their strategies and plans, to strengthen health systems within affected communities.

The London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases was a collaborative disease eradication programme launched on 30 January 2012 in London. It was inspired by the World Health Organization roadmap to eradicate or prevent transmission for neglected tropical diseases by the year 2020. Officials from WHO, the World Bank, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the world's 13 leading pharmaceutical companies, and government representatives from US, UK, United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh, Brazil, Mozambique and Tanzania participated in a joint meeting at the Royal College of Physicians to launch this project. The meeting was spearheaded by Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO, and Bill Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Children Without Worms (CWW) is a program of the Task Force for Global Health and envisions a world in which all at-risk people, specifically targeting children, are healthy and free of worm infections (helminthiases) so they can develop to their full potential. To accomplish the vision of a worm-free world, CWW works closely with the World Health Organization, national Ministries of Health, nongovernmental organizations and private-public coalitions such as Uniting to Combat NTDs. It acts as an intermediary for the pharmaceutical company Johnson and Johnson in distributing the latter's mebendazole for mass deworming of children to reduce or end soil-transmitted helminthiasis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mass deworming</span> Treating large numbers of people for helminthiasis and schistosomiasis

Mass deworming, is one of the preventive chemotherapy tools, used to treat large numbers of people, particularly children, for worm infections notably soil-transmitted helminthiasis, and schistosomiasis in areas with a high prevalence of these conditions. It involves treating everyone – often all children who attend schools, using existing infrastructure to save money – rather than testing first and then only treating selectively. Serious side effects have not been reported when administering the medication to those without worms, and testing for the infection is many times more expensive than treating it. Therefore, for the same amount of money, mass deworming can treat more people more cost-effectively than selective deworming. Mass deworming is one example of mass drug administration.

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References

  1. ↑ Cheney, Catherine. "Strides in progress on Neglected Tropical Diseases as global partners meet". Devex. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  2. ↑ "Home". The END Fund. 2013-06-21. Retrieved 2024-03-05.
  3. ↑ Jack, Andrew. "Philanthropy: the search for the best way to give". Financial Times. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  4. 1 2 "The END Fund Receives $7M Grant From the Helmsley Charitable Trust to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases in Angola". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  5. ↑ "Alwaleed Philanthropies donates $3m to END Fund". Gulf Business. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  6. ↑ Karutu, Carol. "How The END Fund is creating a healthier, more prosperous future, free of intestinal worms". Virgin. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  7. ↑ Kelly, Clare. "How to end neglected tropical diseases". Virgin. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  8. ↑ James Porter, Maretta Silverman. "The END Fund and the Luminos Fund Align Efforts to Fight COVID-19". The Luminos Fund. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  9. ↑ "STATEMENT: END FUND ANNOUNCES $161 MILLION IN CO-INVESTMENT WITH GOVERNMENT PARTNERS AT THE KIGALI SUMMIT ON MALARIA AND NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES". The End Fund. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  10. ↑ "REDUCING THE BURDEN OF DISEASE CAUSED BY PARASITIC WORM INFECTIONS IN AFRICA". The Audacious Project. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  11. ↑ Branson, Richard. "How we can end sickness from parasitic worms". Virgin. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  12. ↑ "Celebrating World NTD day with a photo exhibit: "Reframing Neglect"". World Health Organization. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  13. ↑ Marani, Francesca (17 May 2023). "Visual communication for change: using creativity to address neglected tropical diseases in Africa". Photo Vogue. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  14. ↑ Avenue, 677 Huntington; Boston; Ma 02115 (2016-07-19). "Shining a light on neglect". Harvard Public Health Magazine. Retrieved 2024-03-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ↑ "OUR FUNDS". The End Fund. 18 February 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  16. ↑ "END FUND PARTNERS". The End Fund. 9 November 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
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