Young Henry is a champion. A champion to his schoolmates in Kacheliba, in Kenya’s West Pokot County, where he has led their football team to victory. A champion to his parents, who support his dream of becoming a doctor. And a champion to his community, who have seen that it actually is possible to overcome visceral leishmaniasis, a neglected disease that has plagued their semi-arid region for decades. Henry is the boy who beat the sandfly.

Our short film, The Boy Who Beat the Sandfly, tells Henry’s story of courage and recovery, showing the impact visceral leishmaniasis can have on children and the communities that cherish them. It’s also a call to action for better, simpler treatments for both children and adults affected by one of the world’s deadliest parasitic diseases.

Current treatments are effective (and much better than before) but still too hard to take and deliver. Henry received two painful injections every day for 17 days. ‘Every champion carries scars,’ he tells his friends.

Together with our partners, we are developing simpler and easier-to-take treatments, hoping to one day eliminate the disease for good.

Produced by Kyalo Thomas