To grasp the scale of the problem of neglected diseases, consider the "Big Three" infectious diseases, TB, Malaria and HIV/AIDS. One third of the world's population, (i.e. more than 2 billion people), is presently infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, with 8 - 10 million new infections per year. Between 10% and 15% of those infected will develop active tuberculosis in their lifetime and without adequate treatment will die from the disease. That percentage increases to almost 100% amongst individuals co-infected with HIV/AIDS. More than 40 million people are infected with HIV, 50% of them women, yet in developing countries, only 7% of sufferers have access to antiretroviral drugs. Roughly 2.5 billion people, world-wide, are at risk from Malaria which kills an estimated 1.5 to 2.7 million people per year, 74% of them children.
This is only a part of the story, however. Millions live with one or more of a dozen or so diseases such as Dengue Fever, Leishmaniasis and Leprosy, diseases common in sub-Saharan Africa, South America and South East Asia.
2007 Winners:
1st place - Improving Reproductive Healthcare Delivery in Developing Regions
2nd place - Microneedle-based Vaccine Delivery
3rd place - SeroScreen: A Point-of-Care Diagnostic Device for the Devloping World
4th place - Diabetes Funders Project