Fighting For Disease Treatment

Notre Dame biologist Father Thomas Streit leads the Haiti Program in its efforts to eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis disease by 2020.

Almost half of the population in endemic areas of Haiti suffer from Lymphatic Filariasis. Founded in 1993, the University of Notre Dame Haiti Program, led by Notre Dame biologist Father Thomas Streit, seeks to achieve the historic goal of eliminating Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) in Haiti by 2020. LF, a mosquito-borne disease that affects over 2 million Haitians, is the second leading cause of long-term disfigurement and disability worldwide.

It can be eliminated in Haiti through mass drug administration (mass treatment of more than 1.3 million people annually) and the distribution of co-fortified salt.

The Haiti Program is partnering with the Haitian Ministry of Health, the Gates Foundation, corporations, and non-governmental organizations to forever eliminate the disease in Haiti and alleviate the suffering of Haitians infected with LF. Our innovative work also provides an exportable model for LF elimination in other developing nations.