Neglected Diseases

A series looking at diseases that gain little interest and publicity, and the people they affect. 

Kala Azar

Kala Azar is a deadly, yet treatable, parasitic disease which affects half a million people a year across the world. Efforts to fight the disease have been successful in parts of Kenya, but lack of access to information and adequate medical care in much of Kenya allows Kala Azar to kill thousands of people every year.

Drug-resistant TB

Multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis is a growing global threat. Between 2004 and 2008, more than 24,000 cases of MDR-TB were diagnosed in South Africa but the total numbers are estimated to be even higher. In response, the NGO Médecins Sans Frontières and the City of Cape Town Health Department designed a community-based pilot project for the treatment and support of people with drug-resistant TB in Khayelitsha, an informal settlement of about 1.5 million people.

Elephantiasis

Elephantiasis affects millions of people worldwide and although it can be prevented, the disease has no cure and access to treatment in the developing world is hampered by stigma and poor health infrastructure.

Nodding disease

Nodding disease first emerged in the Sudan in the 1980s. A neurological disease characterized by episodes of nodding and seizures, it now affects a growing number of children in Uganda, Sudan and Tanzania. There is little understanding of the disease, no known treatment and no cure.