NEW YORK (Business Wire EON) September 27, 2007 -- President Bill Clinton announced today at the Clinton Global Initiative the launch of the Sabin Vaccine Institute’s campaign to eliminate thirteen diseases of poverty, known as “Neglected Tropical Diseases” (NTDs). The “STOP NTDs” campaign seeks to raise $25 million for neglected tropical disease control and prevention. Joining President Clinton in inaugurating the campaign were: Michael W. Kempner, Chairman of Sabin and President and CEO of MWW Group; Peter Hotez, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.A.P., President of Sabin; and Dikembe Mutombo, STOP NTDs Campaign endorser, NBA star (Houston Rockets center) and Chairman and President of the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation.

STOP NTDs Campaign Endorsements

Campaign endorsements are featured on an online video at the STOPNTDs.org website. They include: actors Jackie Chan and Alyssa Milano; Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA); Dikembe Mutombo, NBA star; and Jeffrey Sachs, Ph.D., Director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University.

About NTDs

Neglected tropical diseases are the most common affliction of “the poorest of the poor”—one billion people living on less than U.S.$2.00 per day—more than HIV/AIDS and malaria combined.
NTDs blind, disfigure, disable, kill and contribute to an ongoing cycle of poverty and stigmatization that leaves millions unable to work or participate in family and community life.
The seven most common NTDs—including lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis), schistosomiasis (snail fever) and onchocerciasis (river blindness)—can be controlled and potentially eliminated safely, effectively and affordably with a “rapid impact package” of four drugs at a cost of only fifty cents per person, per year—a fraction of the cost of antiviral treatment for HIV/AIDS and multidrug therapy for tuberculosis.

About STOP NTDs Campaign

Aims to increase national and global awareness of the destructive impact of NTDs and to mobilize a campaign to raise $25 million in government funding and donations from individuals, organizations and corporations.
Michael W. Kempner, Chairman of Sabin and President and CEO of MWW Group, announced at the Clinton Global Initiative that $1 million had already been raised towards the $25 million goal.
STOP NTDs Campaign’s “call to action” involves the solicitation of “signatures” on an online petition—housed on a new STOPNTDs.org website (www.STOPNTDs.org) that asks the U.S. Congress to designate an NTD Day in 2008 and increase funding for NTD control and research.
Collected signatures will be used for advocacy on Capitol Hill and in global advocacy efforts to encourage other developed nations to follow the Congress’ lead.

Join the Fight Against NTDs

You can take action now at www.STOPNTDs.org by signing Sabin’s STOP NTDs petition and making a tax-deductible, secure, online donation.

About Sabin Vaccine Institute and Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases

The Sabin Vaccine Institute (www.sabin.org) is a global health, medical research organization based in Washington, D.C. that is leading the fight against diseases of poverty.
The integrated strategy for NTD control—regarded as a model for global disease control—was developed by the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases (www.gnntdc.org), a Sabin-led alliance of leading organizations dedicated to reducing poverty and improving global health through neglected tropical disease control.
Global Network members include: Sabin Vaccine Institute; Schistosomiasis Control Initiative (Imperial College of London); International Trachoma Initiative; Lymphatic Filariasis Support Centre (Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine); The Task Force for Child Survival and Development; Helen Keller International; and The Earth Institute at Columbia University.

MULTIMEDIA GALLERY

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