The END Fund (Ending Neglected Diseases) is a private

non-profit organisation A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

dedicated to combating the five most common

neglected tropical diseases Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a diverse group of tropical infections that are common in low-income populations in developing regions of Africa, Asia, and the Americas. They are caused by a variety of pathogens, such as viruses, bacteri ...

(NTDs) that cause up to 90% of the NTD burden in

Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...

. The fund also helps deliver treatments for children and adults and provide surgeries for NTD-related disabilities, and provides training for healthcare workers in remote communities. As of 2022, the END Fund had provided for 96,018 surgeries and $2.34b worth of treatments since 2012.

History

The END Fund was founded by

Legatum Legatum Limited, also known as Legatum, is a private investment firm, headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Legatum was founded in 2006 by Christopher Chandler. Legatum owns the British broadcaster GB News. History and business activ ...

in 2012. In 2006, prior to the creation of The END Fund,

funded neglected tropical disease programs in

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

and

Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...

. Over four years, eight million people were treated for diseases such as

intestinal worms An intestinal parasite infection is a condition in which a parasite infects the gastro-intestinal tract of humans and other animals. Such parasites can live anywhere in the body, but most prefer the intestinal wall. Routes of exposure and inf ...

schistosomiasis Schistosomiasis, also known as snail fever, bilharzia, and Katayama fever is a neglected tropical helminthiasis, disease caused by parasitism, parasitic Schistosoma, flatworms called schistosomes. It affects both humans and animals. It affects ...

and

lymphatic filariasis Lymphatic filariasis is a human disease caused by parasitic worms known as filarial worms. Usually acquired in childhood, it is a leading cause of permanent disability worldwide, impacting over a hundred million people and manifesting itself in ...

2012-2016

In 2012, following the programs launched in 2006, the END Fund was founded by

to scale up the support for programmes to treat neglected tropical diseases. Ellen Agler was named as Chief Executive Officer. In 2014, The END Fund announced they received a $7 million three-year grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to fund the work of the neglected tropical diseases programs in

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

2017-2019

From 2017 to 2019, the organisation received $3 million from

Alwaleed Philanthropies Alwaleed Philanthropies (formerly "The Al Waleed bin Talal Foundation") is a charitable and philanthropic organization founded by Al-Waleed bin Talal, a Saudi billionaire businessman, and of the ruling House of Saud The House of Saud ( ) ...

to support the work to control and eliminate NTDs in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. In 2017, the END Fund partnered with the Zimbabwean Ministry of Health and Child Care, Econet Global and

Higherlife Foundation Higherlife Foundation is a philanthropic organisation founded in 1996 by Strive Masiyiwa, Strive and Tsitsi Masiyiwa. Since inception, foundation has been supporting orphaned and vulnerable children in Africa through education and material sup ...

to launch a campaign which sent text messages to millions of people in Zimbabwe informing them of ongoing

mass drug administration The administration of drugs to whole populations irrespective of disease status is referred to as mass drug administration (MDA) or mass dispensing. This article describes the administration of antimalarial drugs to whole populations, an interven ...

programs for NTDs. In 2018,

Virgin Unite Virgin Unite is the working name of The Virgin Foundation, the independent charitable arm of the Virgin Group. Created by Richard Branson and Virgin employees in September 2004, Virgin Unite pools volunteering efforts from across the Virgin Gro ...

partnered with the END Fund to help distribute NTD treatments. In 2019 the END Fund launched the Deworming Innovation Fund which aims to end intestinal worms and schistosomiasis that affect children in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

, and

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

COVID-19 Pandemic

In response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, The END Fund partnered with The Luminos Fund in 2020 to support their efforts in rural

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

through its COVID-19 Response Fund.

2021-present

In June 2022, in response to the Kigali Declaration on NTDs, The END Fund committed $161m to support The World Health Organization's 2021–30 road map for NTDs. In 2023, British business magnate

Sir Richard Branson Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is an English business magnate who co-founded the Virgin Group in 1970, and controlled 5 companies remaining of once more than 400. Branson expressed his desire to become an entrepreneu ...

published a blog in support of the END Fund and The Audacious Project’s Deworming Innovation Fund which aims to end parasitic worm infections. In 2023, The END Fund worked on two photography projects partnering with the

WHO The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has 6 regional offices and 15 ...

and Photo Vogue to highlight the impact of Neglected Tropical Diseases on individuals and communities.

Funded Programs

The END Fund has three funds as investment opportunities for private philanthropists, foundations, and corporations. * Flagship Fund * Deworming Innovation Fund * Reaching The Last Mile Fund

Partnerships

The END Fund receives financial support from a wide variety of corporations, non-profit organisations, individual donors and investors. Significant partnerships include

, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,

, The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust,

The Children's Investment Fund Foundation The Children's Investment Fund Foundation (UK) (CIFF) is an independent philanthropic organisation with offices in Addis Ababa, Beijing, London, Nairobi and New Delhi. It is a registered charity in England and Wales and in 2021 disbursed $468 m ...

Good Ventures Good Ventures is a private foundation and philanthropic organization in San Francisco, and the fifth largest foundation in Silicon Valley. It was co-founded by Cari Tuna, a former '' Wall Street Journal'' reporter, and her husband Dustin Mosko ...

and

References

{{reflist International medical and health organizations Organizations established in 2012