(An excerpt from the Mectizan Donation Program Annual Highlights for 2023)
In December 2023, a landmark $777 million pledge was announced for neglected tropical diseases during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai.
The pledge includes a $500 million commitment to expand the efforts of the Reaching the Last Mile Fund to eliminate river blindness and lymphatic filariasis from seven to 39 countries in Africa and Yemen.
This support will ensure national elimination programs have the resources needed to implement interventions to fight these diseases, build capacity, strengthen primary health care systems, and support research and innovation.
This generous $500 million commitment pledged by partners including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the United Arab Emirates, the Governments of Sierra Leone and Tanzania, and many other donors will enable endemic African countries and Yemen to improve the lives of over 350 million people by 2030 by eliminating these debilitating diseases.
The announcement was made during COP28 as the vectors for these diseases are highly sensitive to the impact of climate change, creating the need to reinforce efforts to eliminate them.
The Mectizan Donation Program’s Dr. Yao Sodahlon stated, “This powerful commitment will go a long way toward helping us to leverage Merck’s historic donation, and get Mectizan to everyone who needs it—despite challenges that develop due to climate change.”