Reframing Neglect

Reframing Neglect. .

Artists: Aïda Muluneh . Ala Kheir . John Kalapo . Omoregie Osakpolor . Meseret Argaw . Mustafa Saeed . Sara Waiswa

, Storytelling has long been used as one of the most powerful communication tools to educate, unify, and spur action. To celebrate 10 years of impact, the END Fund engaged artists and activist Aïda Muluneh to create a body of work with photographers from six countries where the END Fund operates. This partnership gave birth to Reframing Neglect, a collection that highlights the dire need to end neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). In breathtakingly bod colors, Reframing Neglect dissects social issues and challenges western representations of Africa by creating a powerful interpretation of the impact of NTDs on gender equity, mental health, mobility and access to resources. Along Aïda Muluneh (Ethiopia), the project features works by Ala Kheir (Sudan), John Kalapo (Mali), Meseret Argaw (Ethiopia), Mustafa Saeed (Somalia), Omoregie Osakpolor (Nigeria), and Sara Waiswa (Uganda). Through fine art and documentary photography, the collection worked to reframe how we tell stories about people impacted by NTDs and emphasizes the central message that people afflicted by NTDs have too long been ignored by local and international systems., NTDs continue to disproportionately impact the world's most vulnerable populations. While 1.65 billion people require NTD interventions worldwide, few people know about these diseases and why elimination is so important. They cause severe pain and long-term disability, and lead to the death of more than 170,000 people per year. Effects from NTDs, such as deformed legs and blindness, result in social isolation, make it difficult to farm or earn a living, and limit productivity in the workplace. As a result, NTDs trap those affected in a cycle of poverty and disease. Studies show that NTD treatment is the single most cost-effective means of improving children's attendance and increasing capacity to learn and concentrate in school. 798 million people received treatment for NTDs in 2020 alone, with over 14 billion treatments donated by the pharmaceutical industry between 2012 and 2021., The Barriers Within - 2021 ,

"In most cases of documenting stories relating to disease, many conditions are not only based on lack of access to medical treatment but also on lack of information. The role of education in prevention and the role of NTD's in access to education creates a vicious cycle that also impacts economics." - Aïda Muluneh (Photo credit: Aïda Muluneh)

, I Sail on the Memories of My Dreams - 2021 , Scripture Artwork by: Jems Kokobi 'Missing Leg' - 2017 ,

"I sail with you on the ocean of my dreams , to a faraway distant Place of great beauty and tranquility. , where suffering and pain do not exist, , where we give praises for our joy and happiness, , where our Love intertwines with the Love for all things." Rumi, "The inception of this piece came about after seeing an image of a young girl who suffered from deformities caused by Elephantiasis. A young girl who is forever marked by the stigma and the physical presence of the disease led me to imagine the emotional impact to her wellbeing." - Aïda Muluneh (Photo credit: Aïda Muluneh)

, The Blind Gaze - 2021 ,

"In creating this piece, the focus is around the theme of blindness. Blindness is not only the result of diseases such as river blindness but also in the way that many of us turn a "blind eye" to the plight of those less fortunate. It is also a representation of the stigma associated with various NTD's and the gaze of judgment of others that often accompanies the realities of recovered patients." - Aïda Muluneh (Photo credit: Aïda Muluneh)

, Left Behind - 2022 , A woman sitting with her face covered with a cracked Mitade clay plate used to bake Injera holding two stones commonly called 'Gulcha' where the clay plate is placed during baking, Tefeki, Oromia region Ethiopia on December 22, 2022 (Photo credit: Meseret Argaw),

"The diseases leave women unable to do their everyday activities. These women who live with NTDs to burden the pressures of the society, the physical and mental problems of the diseases and pressure from themselves." - Meseret Argaw

, I Can Carry the Hundred Lemons - 2022 , A woman sitting with her face covered with a bamboo basket filled with lemon, while two women add lemons on her basket, Tefeki, Oromiamregion, Ethiopia on December 22, 2022 , (Photo credit: Meseret Argaw),

"There is one Ethiopian proverb that literally translate as 'fifty lemons are a load for one person, but for fifty persons they are perfume' to indicate a difficult task becomes easier with team work. Woman living with NTDs carry the burden of the diseases and the rules of the society they live in, which adds to the burden they are already forced to carry. The terminology 'neglected' used to address the diseases by the international community also neglects the burden of these women who requiretreatment. At the end the women are left along with their problems." , - Meseret Argaw

, A Broken Wing - 2022 , A woman sitting with her back facing with torn book looking at the distance Tefeki, Oromia region Ethiopia on January 2, 2022 (Photo credit: Meseret Argaw),

"Women who are infected with one of the NTDs are forced to stop attending school. For women who live in rural communities, attending school may come as a luxury and depends on the availability of nearby schools and the willingness of their parents. But the dreams of women who try to lay down the foundation for a better future are forced to leave school because of the diseases. This has a negative economic impact on the community and also forces women to be dependent. Education here represented by a book is a wing the can help one reach new levels." , - Meseret Argaw

, Betrayal - 2022 , As ropes come, darkness comes. , (Photo credit: Mustafa Saeed), Nightmare 2 - 2022 , In the absence of certain elements, fearing thoughts conquers the peaceful mind. , (Photo credit: Mustafa Saeed), Neglected tropical diseases do not spare Mali, where I have documented several cases of onchocerciasis and elephantiasis (also known as lymphatic filariasis). Patients suffering from these diseases are often the poorest, and therefore frequently cannot afford treatment. Elephantiasis is characterized by swollen limbs, most often the legs., The Blind Chief (Onchocerciasis) - 2022 , Sayon Dembélé, 85, the chief of Behon village in the commune of Boukarybaya. , (Photo credit: John Kalapo),

"One day in the night while I was sleeping, I felt as if insects were walking over my body on my head and my body started to sting and the skin moved as if there was sand in my body. I started to treat myself traditionally and my eyes were getting worse and worse. I couldn't see well, just shadows of people walking by. Little by little, I became blind." - Sayon Dembele