‘These are the neglected diseases’
Public health experts have warned that treatable, neglected diseases that have been nearly eradicated in Africa are re-emerging. New York Times reported.
What’s going on?
Onchocerciasis, or “river blindness,” is a “painful and debilitating” parasitic vector-borne disease transmitted by infected blackflies. World Health Organization.
Cameroon’s head of health services, Dr. Vivien Sil Mabouang told the Times that public health officials are on the verge of eliminating river blindness locally.
But in early 2025, sudden, sweeping, and devastating cuts to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) abruptly halted funding for the initiative.
The Times reported that pharmaceutical companies have provided the drugs for free, but longstanding American aid flows have covered logistics such as transportation and the staff needed to distribute the treatments.
As a result, Dr. Officials like Sil Mabouang have had to prioritize aid and move forward with greatly reduced resources.
As the Times observed, neglected diseases like river blindness are often referred to as “biblical” diseases and “have plagued people for so long that they are mentioned in ancient texts.” Dr. from Cameroon Ministry of Health. Emilienne Epée admitted that unexpected interruptions led to difficult choices.
“These are neglected diseases. The government’s priority is to protect children from dying of malaria, and I understand that,” Epée said.
Why is this worrying?
USAID’s cuts were truly chaotic, affecting programs in various underserved regions around the world.
Following the agency’s loss of funding, millions of dollars of food aid and medical resources would be burned rather than distributed, despite European efforts. interveneand potentially life-saving research was halted.
At the time, public health experts around the world warned that the consequences would be dire and deadly.
Harvard’s TH Chan School of Public Health in November estimated “hundreds of thousands of deaths due to infectious diseases and malnutrition” had already resulted. But as the Times article shows, not all of the negative effects were fatal.
River blindness requires 10 to 15 years of treatment Cleveland Clinicand Dr. Sil Mabouang said authorities would have to “start over from scratch” if the aid pipeline was re-established.
François Ewolo told the Times that he was at high risk of developing onchocerciasis and that his mother suffered from the disease before treatment was widely available.
“There was nothing to help him; we don’t want to go back to that time,” Ewolo lamented. Medical experts emphasized how close USAID was to extinction when it was gutted.
“A few [neglected] Global elimination of the disease is close — one, agonizingly close,” the Times said, citing a record low number of Guinea worm infections in 2025.
What is being done about this?
According to the publication, there was a possibility that some of the major progress could be preserved if USAID or a similar initiative were undertaken. funding restarted In 2026.
Dr. Bouba Bassirou was leading Cameroon’s onchocerciasis program and was determined.
“Giving up is not an option, so we find a way,” Bassirou promised.
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