Centering Country Leadership
Community drug distributors Mariam Abas and Khadija Galgalo distribute treatment for LF in Lamu Town, Kenya.
Centering Country Leadership
Our newest addition to the END Fund is the Accelerate Resilient, Innovative, and Sustainable Elimination of NTDs Fund, known as the ARISE Fund. It is the second phase of a direct philanthropic response to the UK FCDO funding cuts to NTDs in 2021.
The ARISE Fund will invest in five countries— Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan, and Senegal—to develop resource mobilization strategies and strengthen the leadership and capacity of decision makers who represent communities affected by NTDs.
Dr. Abdinasir Amin, Associate Vice President, the ARISE Fund, states, “The ARISE Fund employs a philosophy of co-financing programs with governments in order to integrate NTD program delivery within existing health systems. The most important goal of the ARISE Fund is to ensure country ownership as well as transparency in decisions on program implementation.”
Innovation and streamlined data systems are key to the ARISE Fund. Through prioritization with countries and in support of their NTD Master Plans, the ARISE Fund aims to strengthen the integration of NTDs into other health campaigns, and with other sectors.
Along the Gambia River, vector control technicians search for black fly larvae and pupa. The Gambia River in Senegal is a breeding ground for black flies that can carry the parasite that transmits river blindness. A major focus of the ARISE Fund is working to eradicate river blindness in Senegal.
To do this, it supports digital tracking of program coverage, vector control, tackles root causes of infection including hygiene and sanitation, strengthens drug supply management systems, and optimizes program delivery, especially for hard-to-reach populations.
In addition, the ARISE Fund will help programs innovate by working with the Clinton Health Access Initiative to expand digital health systems, which will allow for standardized monitoring and reporting systems for programmatic activities.
Anchor funding for ARISE has been committed by a group of visionary partners: the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), and The ELMA Foundation.