We’re at the beginning of something big. We’re on a mission to see the end of seven Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) by 2020 and we want you to be part of it.

You may never have heard of them but nearly one in six people across the developing world are affected by these diseases, including half a billion children.

These seven diseases are horrific. They’re caused by bacterial infections and parasites that get inside people’s bodies as they go about their daily life, bathing, washing up or drinking water.

Once inside, they grow, they lay their eggs and they move throughout the body with devastating effects. They cause extreme pain, learning difficulties, deformities, disabilities and they can even cause death. Without treatment they trap the poor in a cycle of poverty by leaving children unable to go to school and by preventing their parents being able to work.

The great news is that we can have the solution. All it takes is a simple packet of pills and all it costs is 50 cents to treat and protect one person for an entire year.

Many diseases usually take decades to eradicate. But with your help – by showing your support, by making a donation or by calling on governments to do more - we can actually see the end of these seven diseases in less than ten years.

SNAIL FEVER
Snail fever is caused by a parasitic worm carried by fresh water snails. They burrow into people’s bodies when they are swimming, fishing or bathing. They then lay eggs which migrate around the body tearing and permanently damaging the bladder, liver and kidneys.

WHIP WORM
Whipworm is contracted from contaminated soil and human feces. The worms embed themselves in the lining of the large intestine where they grow and lay up to 20,000 eggs a day. They cause chronic bloody diarrhea and weight loss.

ROUNDWORM
Roundworm kills more than 60,000 people a year.  These parasites infest the large intestine where they can grow up to twelve inches long, grow as thick as a pencil and lay up to 240,000 eggs a day. They cause severe malnutrition.

TRACHOMA
Trachoma is an infectious eye disease. Repeat bacterial infections eventually cause the eyelid to turn inwards. The eyelashes then scrape and scar the eyeball leading to painful and irreversible blindness.

HOOKWORM
Hookworms enter the small intestine as larvae. They hatch and mature into half inch long worms which attach themselves onto the intestine wall and feed on human blood. They cause severe internal bleeding and in children can lead to severe learning difficulties.

ELEPHANTIASIS
Elephantiasis is an extremely painful, debilitating and disfiguring disease. The parasite attacks the lymphatic system which causes severe swelling and hardening of extremities and genitals.

RIVER BLINDNESS
The parasite that causes river blindness, releases millions of microscopic larvae under the skin and throughout the body. When they die they cause severe itching, painful rashes, disfiguring skin nodules and blindness.

What’s great is we’ve actually got the solution. All it takes is a short course of pills and all it costs is 50 cents to treat and protect one child for one year.

The good news is that major pharmaceuticals companies are providing these pills for free.  What we need now are your donations to help deliver the pills to the people that need them most and to set up treatment programs that the communities can run themselves.

We also need your support to help us keep pressure on governments and world leaders to commit to doing more.

With enough donations and support we can treat enough communities to stop these diseases spreading and see the end of all seven by 2020.

We’ve got an amazing group of individuals, organisations, foundations, corporations and governments who are all onboard and committed to this target.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the primary funder of END7 and the campaign is led by the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases.

The Schistosomiasis Control Initiative, a UK based nonprofit dedicated to ending 7 NTDs in Sub-Saharan Africa, has recently been named a top charity by GiveWell. Please visit their website to learn more about their work & how you can help our UK-based preferred charity partner.

Deworm the World recently helped protect 18 million Indian children from NTDs. They achieve impact by identifying what is needed to launch or sustain effective school-based deworming programs and coordinating the assistance needed to regularly treat many millions of children each year.

It doesn’t stop there. We’re also supported by a highly experienced team of experts, including development leaders, medical researchers and health practitioners.

All we need now is you. With your support we can really make this happen.

We’re making progress every day and with your support we can stay on track and hit our target of ending all 7 diseases by 2020.

Every step we make is a success no matter how big or small. At the individual level, we succeed every time we treat a child or train a teacher to help distribute medication to the community. We also succeed every time we launch a field project, such as the kick-off of a treatment campaign or the provision of clean water to a village. And we succeed at the global level every time pharmaceuticals and governments commit to doing more.

To see our latest success stories and find out how much difference your donation can make check out our progress map here