In his village in Niger, 700 people share a single well, leaving little clean water for bathing. That's how Adamou caught the bacteria that causes trachoma, the disease which caused him to go blind at the age of nine.

Neglected Tropical Diseases
Trachoma is just one of 13 water-, soil- and insect-borne diseases that have become known as "neglected tropical diseases" (NTDs). The other diseases include:

While the names of these diseases are virtually unknown to many Canadians, NTDs cause as much suffering and sickness around the globe as malaria and tuberculosis combined. Yet this group of 13 diseases receives only a fraction of the worldwide funding for prevention and research for cures.

NTDs affect the world's poorest people at an alarming rate, taking a life every minute. These diseases also perpetuate the cycle of poverty because when they don't kill, they cause blindness and other disabilities which keep people from working. NTDs can also impair a child's ability to learn or prevent the child from even attending school. They also complicate the treatment and prevention of other serious diseases, like HIV, tuberculosis and malaria.

Treatment
There are low-cost, effective ways to prevent and treat most NTDs. Drugs can wipe out or prevent most worm infections. Insecticide-treated bed nets that can prevent malaria, can also prevent NTDs like elephantiasis. Better access to clean water also prevents infections like bilharzia and trachoma, while drugs and surgery can treat people who are already affected.

It has been estimated that a comprehensive program to control malaria and NTDs would save the lives of millions of children and cost each person in the developed world the equivalent of one latte a year.

World Vision's Work
Around the world, numerous World Vision sponsored programs help prevent and treat NTDs.

• In villages like Adamou's, World Vision is at work trying to improve access to clean water. In Niger alone, World Vision is helping drill 175 new bore holes, providing safe water for 70,000 people.
• World Vision distributes thousands of insecticide-treated nets in Africa every year, reducing the risk that children and their families will contract insect-borne diseases like sleeping sickness, elephantiasis and malaria.
• World Vision Child Sponsorship also helps kids like Adamou get surgery and medicine to treat trachoma. In 2003, Adamou was one of fifty sponsored children in his region whose eyesight was restored through corrective surgery.

Click here to make a difference in a child's life through World Vision Child Sponsorship.