The 1987 donation of Mectizan by Merck* for river blindness sparked one of global health’s most successful public-private partnerships. Collaboration among governments, NGOs, WHO, donors, and endemic communities eventually led to the inclusion of NTDs in UN Sustainable Development Goal 3.3: “end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases, and other communicable diseases by 2030.” Millions are no longer at risk of developing these devastating diseases. See how the power of partnership drives real-world results.
*Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, New Jersey, USA, is known as MSD outside the US and Canada.