New programme to fight \"so-called neglected diseases\" in the Caribbean

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) says it is planning a major effort to fight so-called neglected diseases, which affect the poorest populations of Latin America and the Caribbean, according to a report on www.cananews.net.



The IDB said it is collaborating with the Pan American Health Organization (PAGO) and the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases (GNNTD) to under take the project.



It said more than 47 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean are at risk or are being affected by infectious diseases ranging from dengue fever to schistosomiasis.



The IDB said a co-financing agreement had been signed with the Sabin Vaccine Institute, in which the biggest multilateral lender for Latin America and the Caribbean will design and create a new lending facility to fight parasitic and infectious diseases in the region.



The new grant facility will support health actions by state and national level entities, both governmental and nongovernmental, in a bid to increase efforts toward controlling and eliminating neglected infectious diseases, known as NID.



Under the accord, GNNTD at the Sabin Vaccine Institute will provide US$2.5 million to the IDB over the next two years to develop and launch the facility. The funds are part of a larger grant the Global Network received earlier this year from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.