Governor Tommy G. Thompson
Watch Gov. Thompson's Rwanda video diaries
“For the cost of deworming one pet in the United States, we can deworm 180 children in Africa. We have the tools; we need the political will to get the resources to those who need our help…The joy that I have seen in the faces of the mothers of Rwanda through this new campaign should be an inspiration for us all to unite and act to end the neglect.”
- Tommy Thompson
In July 2008, the Global Network announced Tommy G. Thompson as a Global Ambassador. Thompson, former Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and four-term Governor of Wisconsin, is a valuable new partner in the fight for increased NTD control efforts. Secretary Thompson will represent the NTD community as an advocate on Capitol Hill and as a leader in global health. He will also champion global medical diplomacy as a crucial part of United States foreign and defense policies.
Rwanda's Mother/Child Health Week 2008
In August 2008, Secretary Thompson traveled through Rwanda as part of his first medical diplomacy mission on behalf of the Global Network. There, he had the opportunity to join Rwanda’s Ministry of Health in launching the first-ever national deworming campaign in the Nyaruguru District as part of its Mother/Child Health Week. The event dewormed 3.8 million people for soil-transmitted helminths (worm infections) and treated
107,000 people for schistosomiasis (snail fever).
Alyssa Milano
"Words cannot fully express the devastation and horror caused by NTDs. Until now, these diseases have been hidden in the shadows, but working with the Global Network, I am focused on bringing this tragedy to the public eye."
- Alyssa Milano
In June 2007, Alyssa Milano was named the Global Network's lead ambassador. She works to raise awareness of neglected tropical diseases by educating the mainstream media and the public about the plight of the one billion people afflicted and the importance of controlling and preventing this global health crisis.
Milano, an actress and active philanthropist, was introduced to the Global Network through her involvement with the Clinton Global Initiative. Upon hearing a panel discussion on NTDs that included Dr. Peter Hotez (President of the Sabin Vaccine Institute) and former President Jimmy Carter, she pledged to dedicate time, effort and funds to promote advocacy, policy and partnerships in the global fight against NTDs.
Milano's first action as ambassador was to pledge $250,000 to the Global Network. The Global Network and its member organizations used Milano's first-year donation to develop a full-scale implementation program to eliminate lymphatic filariasis (LF) in Myanmar, a Southeast Asian nation where LF is extremely prevalent. More specifically, 12 million tablets of DEC, an antiparasitic drug that is part of the rapid-impact package, were purchased to treat 4 million individuals. In 2008, Milano’s second-year donation went toward the purchase of DEC to treat LF in Haiti. Her donation will allow for the treatment of over one-third of Haiti’s entire population.
