Disease and the Benefactor Factor
How do certain diseases make it to the top of the world’s to-do list? Most people know about HIV and malaria, but how many would be equally knowledgeable about leishmaniasis or iodine deficiency?
According to the World Health Organization, there are plenty of reasons why some conditions capture more funding and attention than others. Neglected tropical diseases like Chagas disease or schistosomiasis, for example don’t affect wealthy countries, aren’t prone to “explosive outbreaks,” and tend to maim their victims rather than kill them. All of these factors tend to push certain conditions further down on the public health priority list.
New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof points out that “zero glamour” public health issues like micronutrient fortification just don’t get people’s attention, even though the disease-reducing potential is huge.
Even possible cures to well-known diseases like malaria can languish without strong benefactors. After 70 years of failed attempts, a malaria vaccine may be just around the corner, thanks in large part to the efforts of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. When the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline hesitated to dump resources into developing a malaria vaccine for children without a financial partner, the Gates Foundation invested nearly $108 million in the project. GlaxoSmithKline, the New York Times reports, was "unwilling to undertake pediatric studies unless a financial partner could be found."
The fact that wealthy individuals and foundations are willing to finance possible public-health breakthroughs is marvelous, but it begs the question: If cures for even well-known diseases fail to get traction without the will of passionate investors, will efforts to stop lesser-known diseases ever be advanced?
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