Diseases of poverty are aptly named: they affect people living in extremely poor conditions and trap people in a cycle of poverty because they leave children unable to learn and undercut adults’ ability to work productively. They disproportionately target infants and young children, prevent children from ever reaching their full potential, and keep mothers from having healthy pregnancies. When pneumococcal disease, or typhoid, or schistosomiasis strikes a child or parent, a family is destabilized. When these diseases occur at endemic levels, as they frequently do, the development of an entire nation can stall.
Sabin’s mission is to reduce needless human suffering from vaccine-preventable and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) by developing new vaccines, advocating for increased use of existing vaccines, and promoting expanded access to affordable medical treatments. Our job is to educate, eliminate barriers, and lead scientific discovery, delivering on the promise of a healthier future for nearly two billion people still plagued by NTDs and vaccine preventable diseases.
We believe that access to vital medicines and vaccines should be a basic service that governments guarantee for their people; and that populations free from the burden of preventable diseases are better equipped to focus successfully on building their societies.
Our Work in Action:
Jyoti is a young girl living in Bihar state, India. Like many of her classmates, she was infected by intestinal worms that made her too weak to attend school. Watch this video to see how the Sabin Vaccine Institute and one of our partner organizations helped change Jyoti’s life as part of the largest school-based de-worming program in the world.