USAID's $100M award for neglected tropical diseases

The US Agency for International Development has announced a $100.0 million award to the nonprofit research organization RTI International to reduce the impact of neglected tropical diseases in developing nations.

The project, which will treat more than 40 million people over five years, represents one of the first large-scale efforts to integrate existing disease-specific treatment programs to care for millions of the world's poorest people. The project will build on the success of those programs, bringing them to national scale and enhancing their effectiveness and efficiency by integrating treatment, monitoring and evaluation programs, according to the USAID.

"This significant investment will improve the lives of millions of people afflicted with disabling conditions through effective, low-cost, mass drug administration and associated education programs," said Richard Greene, director of the Office of Health, Infectious Disease and Nutrition at the USAID.