Saffiatu James, right, who lives in Bo, Sierra Leone, suffers from elephantiasis -- one of a number of Neglected Tropcial Diseases (NTDs) spread by parasitic worms.
Olivier Asselin
Beating neglected tropical diseases —
Neglected tropical diseases affect one in six people around the world. Access to clean water can help prevent transmission of some NTDs.
Courtesy Esther Havens
Beating neglected tropical diseases —
Boys run through the village of Pelewahun, Sierra Leone. Without shoes, they're at high risk for infection with soil-transmitted helminths like hookworm.
Courtesy Olivier Asselin
Beating neglected tropical diseases —
A child receives the oral polio vaccine at the Kenema government hospital, in the town of Kenema, Sierra Leone. Polio cases have decreased by over 99% since 1988. The control of NTDs potentially represents the next major public health success story, argues Dr. Neeraj Mistry, Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases.
Courtesy Olivier Asselin
Beating neglected tropical diseases —
Children receive the deworming medicine Albendazole in Bihar, India. More than 500 million children worldwide are infected with NTDs, including intestinal worms like hookworm, whipworm and roundworm.
Courtesy Esther Havens
Beating neglected tropical diseases —
Children march through the streets of Ghorahuan Village, Bihar, singing songs about Albendezole to educate the community about its benefits.
Courtesy Esther Havens
Beating neglected tropical diseases —
People living in poverty, without access to clean water and sanitation have the highest risks of infection with intestinal worms. A girl carries plastic bags of drinking water she sells in the Kroo bay slum of Freetown, Sierra Leone.