Prime Highlights
- The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development is supporting African countries in tackling tropical and neglected diseases through long-term health initiatives.
- Its efforts focus on strengthening healthcare systems and improving access to treatment in vulnerable communities across the continent.
Key Facts
- The Kuwait Fund provided $5 million for the first phase of the neglected tropical diseases programme from 2016 to 2020.
- An additional $5 million has been committed for the current phase of the programme running from 2024 to 2028.
Background:
The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) supports public health in Africa by helping fight tropical and neglected diseases.
Through long-term funding and support, and by working with international health organisations, the fund has helped improve healthcare services in many vulnerable areas. Its work includes building and upgrading hospitals and health centres, as well as supporting vaccination programmes, public awareness campaigns, and the supply of essential medicines.
Tropical and neglected diseases remain a major public health challenge, particularly in Africa, which carries more than 40 percent of the global disease burden. Conditions such as malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, cholera, and a range of neglected tropical diseases continue to impact communities, especially in areas with limited sanitation, weak healthcare infrastructure, and ongoing conflict or displacement.
According to global health estimates, around 700 million people in Africa are infected with one or more neglected tropical diseases. These illnesses often affect the poorest populations, leading to chronic disability, blindness, and, in severe cases, death. Limited access to healthcare and preventive services has made disease control difficult, particularly in remote regions
In response, international health organisations have expanded large-scale treatment programmes to tackle five major diseases: lymphatic filariasis, river blindness, schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted worms, and trachoma. These initiatives now operate in 47 African countries, providing preventive treatment to hundreds of millions of people each year with support from governments, volunteers, and development partners.
Beyond disease-specific initiatives, KFAED has financed more than 70 health-sector projects worth approximately 196.7 million Kuwaiti dinars, supporting healthcare infrastructure, medical equipment, and service delivery across developing countries, most of them in Africa. Since 1974, its investments have also supported major disease-control programmes targeting river blindness, malaria, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis.
Through long-term support and regional partnerships, the Kuwait Fund continues to help improve healthcare and strengthen health systems across Africa.
