Stewardship for research on infectious diseases of poverty - 2009 annual report
An outline of progress made in TDR’s Stewardship function during 2009
Summary
Ten years into the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), there is concern that progress is slow and most, if not all, of these far-sighted laudable 2015 goals will simply not be met. The neglected infectious diseases of poverty continue to pose formidable obstacles to the attainment of not only the health-related agenda of MDGs 4, 5 and 6 but also to overall human development covering the first six goals. Infant mortality remains high and the ‘bottom billion’ – the poorest in the world – are affected by at least 1 of the 13 diseases that fall within the category of neglected tropical diseases. These diseases (which include helminth infections, lymphatic filariasis, schistosomiasis and the blinding diseases of onchocerciasis and trachoma) cause the loss of 57 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs).