RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC - RTI International
is pleased to join Cambodia, the World Health Organization and the United
States Agency for International Development in celebrating the elimination of
lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem in Cambodia. Also known as
elephantiasis, lymphatic filariasis causes fluid buildup in the lymph system
that can lead to severe disfigurement, as well as social and economic
discrimination against those affected.
RTI implements USAID's ENVISION project,
which leads the global fight against seven neglected tropical diseases (NTDs),
including lymphatic filariasis (LF), with activities in 19 NTD-endemic
countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America. As part of the project, RTI
worked with the Ministry of Health in Cambodia to develop their "dossier"
which compiles the data needed to prove elimination of lymphatic filariasis as
a public health problem. Cambodia was one of the first countries to be
validated as having eliminated LF as a public health problem under WHO's new
official process for validation.
"We join the global NTD community in
congratulating the Government of Cambodia for this remarkable
accomplishment," said Lisa Rotondo, ENVISION project director at RTI.
"As we aim for global elimination of LF by the year 2020, this success
gives clear evidence that our goal is reachable. With numerous other partners,
RTI is proud to have played a part."
Approximately 120 million people around the
world have lymphatic filariasis, and more than 1.3 billion are at risk. USAID
is working with 24 lymphatic filariasis endemic countries to eliminate the
disease by 2020.
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