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Sometimes Big Men Come in Small Packages – Ending Diseases of Poverty
October 12, 2007

On September 27, I found myself surrounded by two tall men and a self-described “short guy.”

The setting was the Clinton Global Initiative in Manhattan, where President Bill Clinton helped inaugurate the “STOP NTDs” campaign, which aims to mobilize $25 million to combat neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Calling the campaign “a huge commitment,” the President honored the Sabin Vaccine Institute and MWW Group—Sabin’s pro bono agency of record—for creating and leading this first-ever initiative to control and potentially eliminate these horrific diseases that kill or destroy the lives of the world’s poorest people. Impacting more than 500 million people (mostly children), NTD’s impact more people than HIV/AIDS and malaria combined…yet get a fraction of the attention and funding.

That day, representing both Sabin as Chairman, and MWW Group, as President and CEO, I was deeply honored to share the stage with President Clinton—who stands at 6’2”-plus—NBA star Dikembe Mutombo, who’s at least a foot taller—and Dr. Peter Hotez, who, let’s say, is a bit shorter than Mutombo.

You know the great work of President Clinton. His ability to forge creative partnerships to solve the world’s most pressing problems continues in his post-Presidency.

You may not know Dikembe Mutombo beyond his long and distinguished NBA career. But, outside the court, he’s making major inroads in improving the health, education and quality of life for the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the land of his birth.

You probably don’t know Dr. Peter Hotez. He’s one of the world’s leading experts on “diseases of poverty,” including NTDs—diseases that plague the most destitute people in the developing world—the voiceless, powerless, hopeless and neglected. But he’s not just an “expert”, he’s a “man of action” who, as President of the Sabin Vaccine Institute, is leading the global fight against diseases of poverty. In fact, hearing Peter’s “call to action” at the 2006 Clinton Global Initiative is what inspired me to commit MWW Group to $1 million in public relations, advocacy, development and capacity building counsel and services to Sabin...and eventually led to me joining the board and becoming its Chairman.

In Peter, 2.7 billion people “living” on less than U.S.$2.00 a day have finally found their voice and their champion. With colleagues like Kari Stoever and others at Sabin and the Global Network on NTDs, which Sabin also leads, he’s placed neglected tropical diseases on the global health radar. And he’s fostering use of a “rapid impact package,” comprised of four drugs, to control and potentially eliminate the seven most common NTDs—at a cost of only fifty cents per person. That’s the goal of the STOP NTDs Campaign—to raise $25 million to treat 50 million people.

You can learn more about Peter and his important work this Sunday, October 14, on CBS Sunday Morning, sometime between 9:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. EST, and on October 29 at 11:00 p.m. on the Charlie Rose Show on PBS.

Reflecting on Peter’s achievements in fighting NTDs, a friend recently told him, “Pretty good for a short guy.” Spot on. Sometimes big men come in small packages.

Posted by Michael Kempner at October 12, 2007 12:00 PM