NTDs are disabling and debilitating chronic conditions that keep children out of school, keep adults from being able to work, and keep people who are already poor mired in a cycle of poverty. NTDs also are a major killer: over 500,000 people die annually from the consequences of NTDs.
Pain and Suffering
NTDs can cause ongoing pain and suffering. The swelling from advanced stages of lymphatic filariasis, or elephantiasis, can make it extremely difficult or impossible for adults to walk. The open lesions on their skin can be sources of constant pain and infection. The severe itching and burning from river blindness is constant. Headaches and eye pain from advanced stage blinding trachoma are incessant and severe.
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