Derstine Witnesses "Delivery of Hope"

President Paul Derstine recently visited Haiti, where he witnessed the delivery of more than 14 million doses of DEC (diethylcarbamazine), a medication that will offer millions of Haitians the hope of a brighter future.

DEC and albendazole are used to prevent lymphatic filariasis (LF), a disease that threatens millions of Haitians. LF often results in elephantiasis, extreme swelling that usually affects the feet and legs, causing not only pain but isolation from the community.

"LF falls into a category known as Neglected Tropical Diseases, or NTDs," Derstine noted. "These 13 parasitic diseases are almost unheard of in the United States, but afflict millions in the developing world." An article in the May 2 medical journal Lancet notes that "almost everyone in the bottom billion" (the world's poorest segment) is afflicted with at least one NTD.

Since 1998, IMA has been supporting the work of the Ministry of Health to control Lymphatic Filariasis in Haiti. Currently, IMA is coordinating support for the national mass drug administration programs designed to reach 2.4 million Haitians to prevent and treat Haiti's two most prevalent NTDs: LF and soil-transmitted helminthes (parasitic worms).
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IMA is leading a consortium that supports the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education. This program is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) through the NTD Control Program of RTI International. </i>