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Each year, we mark World NTD Day by creating awareness and enhancing engagement in tackling the neglected tropical disease schistosomiasis. In 2025, we launched a successful social media campaign which reached a wide audience.
New Pediatric Treatment Option for Schistosomiasis closer to the young patients
The new pediatric treatment option for preschoolers, developed within the Pediatric Praziquantel Consortium, has now been included into the World Health Organization’s List of Prequalified Medicines.
Each year, we mark World NTD Day by creating awareness and enhancing engagement in tackling the neglected tropical disease schistosomiasis. We hosted a celebratory event with a panel of distinguished guests and showcased our photo exhibition.
Pre-clinical researchers in the field of schistosomiasis applied to our fast-funding program - the Schistosomiasis Research Grant. This initiative catalyzes research in an open innovation spirit.
As part of our efforts to raise awareness of the causes of bilharzia and ways to prevent it, the Bilharzia Storytelling Lab brings together local storytellers to work with experts from health organizations and non-profits. In Ethiopia, the winning team piloted their solution, which employed theatre for development — a community-based approach using performance to facilitate social change.
Milestone Achieved: Provision of Two Billion Tablets
We are committed to fighting this disease until it is eliminated as a public health problem. Over the past 15 years, we have donated two billion tablets to the World Health Organization to treat schistosomiasis, mainly for school-aged children.
Together with the Pediatric Praziquantel Consortium, we have achieved a major milestone in the fight against schistosomiasis. The European Medicines Agency has adopted a positive scientific opinion of a new pediatric treatment option for preschoolers aged 3 months to 6 years with schistosomiasis.
Our Healthcare CEO and member of the Executive Board of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany Peter Guenter, underlines the core goal of the schistosomiasis program: the elimination of this devastating disease. A new publication in the medical journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases shows that we are getting closer to achieving this goal.
The Pediatric Praziquantel Consortium is an international public-private partnership dedicated to developing a pediatric formulation to treat schistosomiasis in preschool-aged children. The program is currently in Phase III, with pivotal trials generating confirmatory data for registration. In early 2021, the Consortium launched its ADOPT program to ensure wide acceptance and equitable access.
Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs) are urgently needed to simplify testing and guide treatment campaigns in community settings across Africa. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany is a member of a global health strategic partnership developing and validating an innovative RDT for schistosomiasis.
We hosted a virtual Bilharzia Storytelling Lab in Kenya. It offered Kenyan community leaders and storytellers the opportunity to envision new ways of accessible and tailored disease information. The concept of a card game to educate young children through playful learning was selected as the best project and received our support for implementation.
As part of efforts to eliminate schistosomiasis in Africa, we partnered with the NALA Foundation. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, 90,000 FFP2 masks were donated and distributed to community health workers and schools.
Our Schistosomiasis Research Grant catalyzes research through open innovation. Pre-clinical researchers applied to this fast-funding program, fostering advancements in the field.
Each year, we mark World NTD Day by creating awareness and enhancing engagement in tackling the neglected tropical disease schistosomiasis. Various articles and press releases were published around World NTD Day 2021 and an ISNTD Connect Webinar took place.
Schistosomiasis is one of the most prevalent parasitic infections in Africa, placing a significant burden on public health and local economies. Access to schistosomiasis innovation is the next frontier to reach the elimination of this disease. To learn more about our collaborative efforts to beat schistosomiasis watch the replay of the ISNTD Connect webinar.
On the 28th of January 2021 the WHO launched its new NTD Roadmap 2030! We stay committed to actively support the efforts of the global elimination of NTDs, such as schistosomiasis.
As part of our efforts to raise awareness on the causes of bilharzia and ways to prevent it, the Bilharzia Storytelling Lab brings together local storytellers to work with experts from health organizations and non-profits. In Rwanda, the chosen winning solution is a specially designed school notebook that educates children and parents about schistosomiasis, and further workshops for parents and teachers.
Pediatric Praziquantel Consortium Program in Registration Phase
An estimated 50 million preschool-aged children require a suitable treatment for schistosomiasis. Together with the Consortium, a potential new pediatric treatment option for children 3 months to 6 years of age has been developed. In November 2022, on behalf of the Consortium, we submitted the application to the European Medicines Agency which validated it and has now started its scientific review process.
Strong partnerships are essential to fight against the NTD (neglected tropical disease) schistosomiasis. That’s why we’ve been working closely with the END Fund in Rwanda and across Africa to end the sickness caused by parasitic worms, for which millions of people require treatment annually. Our Healthcare CEO and member of the Executive Board of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, Peter Guenter, co-authored an article with Ellen Agler, CEO of the END Fund, outlining the mechanisms of successful partnerships necessary to accelerate progress towards the elimination of NTDs.
The Kigali Summit on Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases
The summit was a historic opportunity for governments, scientific experts, partner companies, and community champions to show the world how malaria and neglected tropical disease (NTD) programs unlock the potential to create a safer world for all, everywhere. On June 23rd, world leaders and their partners came together in Kigali, Rwanda, to demonstrate their commitment to end NTDs that cause suffering and misery to billions of people.
In a joint video statement, together with CEOs from global pharmaceutical companies, our Healthcare CEO and member of the Executive Board of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, Peter Guenter, re-confirmed our commitment to fight against the NTD schistosomiasis until elimination.
New Study on Schistosomiasis Published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases
Working closely with our partners, we set our sights on the NTD schistosomiasis 14 years ago – and our efforts are paying off. According to new data, the prevalence among school-aged children in sub-Saharan Africa has decreased by nearly 60% between 2000 and 2019. That's the result of a study by the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
Each year, we mark World NTD Day by creating awareness and enhancing engagement in tackling the neglected tropical disease schistosomiasis. In 2022, we created an awareness week.
Pediatric Praziquantel Consortium Completes Clinical Development Program
A new treatment option for schistosomiasis in preschool-aged children has completed the pivotal clinical Phase III trial. The new child-friendly tablet was developed by the Pediatric Praziquantel Consortium, a public-private partnership led by Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany through its Global Health Institute.
Local Manufacturing & Access for New Pediatric Medication for Schistosomiasis
Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany has entered into a contract manufacturing agreement with Universal Corporation Ltd., Nairobi, Kenya (a subsidiary of Strides Pharma Science Limited, India) for the large-scale production of a new pediatric medication once registered. The drug is needed to treat schistosomiasis in children below the age of six. The agreement includes building extensive production capacities in Nairobi for future provision in endemic African countries.
Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs) are urgently needed to simplify testing and guide treatment campaigns in community settings across Africa. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany is a member of a global health strategic partnership developing and validating an innovative RDT for schistosomiasis.
We hosted a virtual Bilharzia Storytelling Lab in Kenya. It offered Kenyan community leaders and storytellers the opportunity to envision new ways of accessible and tailored disease information. The concept of a card game to educate young children through playful learning was selected as the best project and received our support for implementation.
As part of efforts to eliminate schistosomiasis in Africa, we partnered with the NALA Foundation. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, 90,000 FFP2 masks were donated and distributed to community health workers and schools.
Our Schistosomiasis Research Grant catalyzes research through open innovation. Pre-clinical researchers applied to this fast-funding program, fostering advancements in the field.
Each year, we mark World NTD Day by creating awareness and enhancing engagement in tackling the neglected tropical disease schistosomiasis. Various articles and press releases were published around World NTD Day 2021 and an ISNTD Connect Webinar took place.
Schistosomiasis is one of the most prevalent parasitic infections in Africa, placing a significant burden on public health and local economies. Access to schistosomiasis innovation is the next frontier to reach the elimination of this disease. To learn more about our collaborative efforts to beat schistosomiasis watch the replay of the ISNTD Connect webinar.
On the 28th of January 2021 the WHO launched its new NTD Roadmap 2030! We stay committed to actively support the efforts of the global elimination of NTDs, such as schistosomiasis.
We have renewed our partnership with the NALA Foundation – which stands for Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) Advocacy, Learning, Action – and the Federal Ministry of Health of Ethiopia until 2023 to fight the NTD Schistosomiasis in south-western Ethiopia. Through this project, we will continue to expand our efforts to reach more than 170,000 school-age children in six districts with the highest prevalence of schistosomiasis. Additionally, we will seek to reach 50,000 community members in 8,000 households.
Partnership to develop a technology to fight Neglected Tropical Diseases
We have entered into an agreement with Jannsen Pharmaceutica, N.V. (company of Johnson and Johnson) to develop an artificial intelligence based diagnostic tool to improve the detection of the Neglected Tropical Diseases schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis.
Reaching a milestone for World NTD Day 2020: Provision of the billionth tablet
On the first ever World NTD Day we announced and celebrated the major milestone of providing the billionth tablet to WHO. We will continue #MakingSchistory until this devastating disease is eliminated.
Together with more than 240 organizations around the world, we have partnered in support of the first-ever World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day (NTD) on January 30th to beat the painful and deadly diseases.
In July 2019, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany renewed its longstanding collaboration with WHO to fight schistosomiasis. CEO Belén Garijo and WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus signed the third memorandum of understanding, continuing the mission to #MakingSchistory.
A photo story from rural Ethiopia
With the help of humanitarian photographer, Marcus Perkins, we are exhibiting how schistosomiasis has affected rural and low-income communities, mostly in Africa. On the occasion of the 72nd World Health Assembly in Geneva we hosted an exhibition highlighting on Neglected Tropical Diseases, particularly schistosomiasis. The photos tell the personal story of the small boy Manyazewal and how the efforts of the global schistosomiasis community are helping millions of children like him to get back to school. In October 2019 the exhibition was shown in our headquarter in Darmstadt and will start to travel in 2020 and beyond.
Celebrating ten years of donating tablets to WHO for African countries. To mark this milestone moment in the history of schistosomiasis, a giant worm was placed on Lake Geneva in 2017. The idea behind the worm was to draw global attention to the disease. Since then, the worm has appeared on many different occasions.
Have you seen the worm? (2017)
Celebrating ten years of donating tablets to WHO for African countries. To mark this milestone moment in the history of schistosomiasis, a giant worm was placed on Lake Geneva in 2017. The idea behind the worm was to draw global attention to the disease. Since then, the worm has appeared on many different occasions.
Understanding Schistosomiasis:
What is Schistosomiasis?
Schistosomiasis is a water-borne tropical disease caused by parasitic worms. Click below to learn more about it.
