The END Fund: Providing New Beginnings for Those Impacted by Neglected Tropical Diseases

Today, a group of parasitic, viral, bacterial and fungal—but also treatable and preventable—diseases impact more than one billion people globally, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Known as Neglected Tropical Diseases (or NTDs), these diseases include river blindness, schistosomiasis and lymphatic filariasis, also known as elephantiasis. These chronic infectious diseases are painful and disabling, and they can often be deadly. (The World Health Organization estimates NTD’s are responsible for 200,000 deaths annually.)

According to The END Fund, a nonprofit dedicated to eliminating NTDs, over 40% of the global burden is concentrated in Africa, where they focus most of their community-focused, on-the-ground efforts, including Ethiopia, Rwanda and Niger.

In 2023 alone, the organization reported treating over 180 million people by mobilizing resources and delivering treatments through community efforts and collaborative coalitions with governments, local nonprofits, and pharmaceutical and academic partnerships.

“The goal,” explains The END Fund’s Senior Director of Investor Relations Laura Parrotta, “is to try and establish a blueprint for disease elimination that can be replicated in other countries.” The eradication of these diseases not only means healthier lives for those impacted but also creates a ripple effect that “can improve lives for generations to come.”

Nearly one billion children have had their lives altered by the effects of NTDs, as Parrotta points out that these debilitating diseases can oftentimes keep them away from school or even prohibit them from playing in their villages due to exhaustion or malnutrition.

NTDs profoundly impact people’s abilities, often leading to social isolation and making daily tasks like going to work extremely difficult. As a result, many of those effected by NTDs have a hard time providing for themselves or their families, which has a major impact on their earnings and ultimately has a ripple effect on the economy.

While these diseases are known as markers of extreme poverty and inequity, data and economic arguments have found that ending these diseases would be one of the most cost-effective of global health programs. The safe and effective treatment of NTDs is both low cost—an average of just 50 cents can fund a rapid-impact package of medication to treat an individual—and high reward.

“The impact of treating NTDs goes beyond health and into the ability of the community to prosper,” Parrotta says. Upon treating and ultimately breaking and controlling the disease transmission, she explains that the next step is to eliminate the diseases entirely.

Having already seen major strides in countries like Niger, which submitted a World Health Organization dossier to verify its elimination of river blindness, and Rwanda, which is on track to eliminate schistosomiasis by the year 2030, donors and philanthropists have a unique opportunity to make an impact on a global level. Parrotta says that The END Fund is a truly collaborative effort and donor resources are often pooled with other funders to have a more significant impact: “We have a community of like-minded philanthropists that have come together around The END Fund.”

Since their inception in 2012, the New York City-headquartered organization reports support from over 7,000 donors from 68 countries, garnering nearly $500 million in funds. In 2023, the organization says that 13.6% of its revenue came directly from donor-advised funds (DAFs). Catherine Garces, the Senior Associate Director of Investor Relations at The END Fund, notes that the flexibility of unrestricted giving can have a “life-changing” effect, helping ensure people aren’t missing critical surgeries and treatments.

No matter how donors choose to give, for those seeking to make lasting change in the world, Garces says The END Fund provides a unique opportunity for dedicated philanthropists. “So many countries are going to reach their elimination goals, and you’re going to be a part of that. It can be part of your legacy.”

Photos courtesy of The END Fund