By Monique Wasunna, Eastern Africa Director, DNDi
Nearly 30 years ago, one of my patients, a young boy suffering from visceral leishmaniasis, died in my arms. Visceral leishmaniasis, also known as black fever, is a neglected parasitic disease endemic in eastern Africa that mainly affects children younger than 15. The boy was from an endemic area in Baringo, Kenya, 250km from Nairobi. At that time, the treatment that could have saved him was not easily available near his village.