Ever heard of Guinea Worm? Onchocerciasis? Schistosomiasis?Lymphatic Filariasis?

Probably not, since these tropical disease don’t get much attention outside the tropics.

So, public health and biomedical researchers from around the globe will be meeting this weekend in Cambridge, Massachusetts to discuss how to to eliminate NTDs.

The meeting will focus on ideas and actions related to achieving the goals of the WHO Global Plan to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases 2008-2015.

The organizers explain why they planned the meeting:

NTDs debilitate and dramatically reduce the quality of life for more than one billion people living in developing countries around the world. As a result, these diseases cause great suffering and obstruct socioeconomic development in these countries. Eliminating these diseases will require effective action and strong sustained global commitment. Effective action can only come from a connected community of individuals in different sectors and from many countries working closely together. The combined voice of this community is essential to sustain global commitment over time. An open international meeting dedicated to eliminating NTDs will serve to nucleate this community and provide a podium from which its voice can be heard.

More information here. Also, check back for more NNB reporting on the meeting.

Among the speakers:

Joseph Ndung’u

Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND)

Basel, Switzerland

Peter Hotez

Sabin Vaccine Institute, The George Washington University

Washington, DC, USA

Shyam Sundar

Banaras Hindu University

Varanasi, India

Luiz Jacintho da Silva

Dengue Vaccine Institute,

International Vaccine Institute

Seoul, South Korea