Low-cost solution to parasite, poverty at risk from possible NSF cuts

A low-cost intervention against schistosomiasis in Senegal, co-led by Cornell, faces funding uncertainty due to proposed NSF cuts. The project tests community-led vegetation removal to break the poverty-disease trap.

- The intervention involves harvesting aquatic vegetation that hosts snails vectoring schistosomiasis, reducing infection rates by nearly one-third. - The removed vegetation is used as fertilizer and animal feed, providing economic benefits nine times the cost.

- The project is mid-stream in a cluster randomized controlled trial across 104 villages, with baseline data collected in May 2024. - Losing funding would leave communities without follow-up and evidence on the intervention's scalability.

The disease affects 250 million people worldwide, and the study aims to provide a sustainable strategy to combat it.