FOOTBALL4GOOD MAGAZINE | MARCH 2020

“AS A FOOTBALLER AND PARENT, I BELIEVE WE SHOULD DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO END THESE PREVENTABLE AND TREATABLE DISEASES.” With unfettered urgency, the UNDP website declares, “the world is off-track to achieve the health-related SDGs”. Drawing in particular upon the 31-year discrepancy between the life expec- tancies of countries with the shortest and longest lifespans, the piece illustrates how deeply rooted the inequalities are when healthcare is concerned. One of the targets of UN Global Goal 3 (Good Health & Well-being) is to end neglected tropical diseases, a phenomenon that poignantly exem- plifies that good health comes at a price that only the fortunate few can afford. What, indeed, are neglected tropical diseases? Therein lies a significant part of the problem. For most of us reading this, they are not of any consequence. Therefore, we remain unaware. Lymphatic filariasis, also known as elephantia- sis, makes the limbs swell painfully. Trachoma and onchocerciasis both cause blindness. Sleeping sickness can result in coma and death. While the symptoms and effects of NTDs vary, the diseases have one thing in common: NTDs are all preventable and treatable. Despite their prevalence and the ease of eradicat- ing them, NTDs have not been a priority on public health agendas. 40% of the people affected reside on the African continent; most of them live in poor, remote or marginalised communities. In 2012, the London Declaration on NTDs already did much to unite policy makers across the world to pool resources towards the issue. As an indication that much still needs to be done, the cause was issued an annual day with 20 th January 2020 marking the first World NTD Day. An organisation that has been heeding the call since 2012 is The END Fund, a private phil- anthropic initiative with the sole purpose of ending the most common tropical diseases. Since its initiation, the organisation has raised over 118 million dollars and provided treatment to more than 140 million people. NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES (NTDS) & GLOBAL GOAL 3 WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR FOOTBALLERS TO SPEAK OUT AGAINST ISSUES LIKE NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES? So, it is obviously something that I am now doing publically because the idea is to raise awareness for it. I see quite a lot of footballers who are doing their own charity work which is not always in the public eye. It was also not my goal to raise aware- ness for me, but this particular campaign needs the attention and that’s why I think it is good to try and talk about it as much as you can. HOWDID YOU FIRST HEAR ABOUT NTDS? When I started working with Common Goal, we went through the different projects that I could be a part of. When they told me about NTDs, it wasn’t something that I was aware of myself. Of course it comprises of different sorts of diseases. For me, what was astonishing is the fact that the END Fund was already doing work and that the treatment is free for people and they just need to be aware of the situation. It seemed like a perfect initiative to start my Common Goal journey with. WHAT IS SOMETHING ABOUT NTDS THAT YOU DIDN’T KNOWBEFORE, BUT NOW KNOW, THAT YOU THINK IS IMPORTANT TO SHARE WITH THE GENERAL PUBLIC? I didn’t know that there were so many diseases that were preventable and curable by, sometimes, only one form of medication. I am sure a lot of other people didn’t know that either. I think it is a great lesson to learn as well as the availability of these medicines for everyone. YOU HAVE A PARTICULAR PUBLIC SERVICE HEALTH CAMPAIGN RUNNING IN NIGERIA AT THE MOMENT. TELL US ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN AND HOW YOU CAME TO BE A PART OF IT. The fight against NTDs is a great campaign be- cause it affects millions of people in West Africa and Nigeria. To be on TV in Nigeria now is prob- ably the best way of spreading the word. It has been on radio and TV stations and been trans- lated into different languages. The whole idea is to raise awareness because the treatment is free but people just have to know about the possibil- ity of getting the treatment and hopefully, it can prevent a lot of people from getting sick. YOU AND YOUR SUPER EAGLE TEAMMATES ARE TRULY A FORCE FOR GOOD - HAVE YOU SPO- KEN TO THEM ABOUT COMMON GOAL AND/OR ABOUT NTDS? Of course, when we spend time together we talk about so many different topics and people see what I am involved with on social media as we all follow each other a lot of the time. Everyone is aware of the campaign and I was glad to see Leon Balogun join [Common Goal] as well and hopefully more players will get involved with Common Goal and from there on, everyone can choose different projects to be a part of. I think the main thing is awareness, and somehow just by retweeting and also supporting a campaign that can already have a lot of impact on other peoples’ lives. But, I also see a lot of charity work that is not necessarily publicised. I think there is a great awareness in the form of the responsibility within the team now for us that are sort of privileged to try and give back to our communities and Nigeria because we’re a country that could improve a lot. So, it is fantastic to see that the guys are involved in different projects. HOWDOWE GET MORE FOOTBALLERS TO FOL- LOW IN YOUR FOOTSTEPS AND SUPPORT NTDS - DISEASES THAT AFFECT THE POOREST OF THE POOR AND PREVENT COMMUNITIES FROM LEADING HEALTHY AND PROSPEROUS LIVES. I think that the main thing is spreading the word. The football world is quite a small bubble when you really get into it. Often, you might have played against different players, you meet a lot of players when you change teams and if you’re privileged enough to play for the national team you normally play with players who have quite a following or a voice within their countries. The main thing is by talking about it openly and also for other play- ers to know that whatever you decide to donate might not seem like much for one person relative- ly, but it can help so many more people. WOULD YOU BE INTERESTED IN GOINGWITH COMMON GOAL AND THE END FUND TO NIGERIA TO SEE HOW THESE DISEASES AFFECT COMMUNITIES? That is another great way of doing the work. Unfortunately, I’m quite strapped for time be- cause I have my responsibilities here in Italy and, when I do have some free time, I always seem to be with the national team in camp. I have limited windows of opportunity, but I think during the summer break I might have a little bit more time and an opportunity to get involved and also visit some of these sites and hopefully speak to some people and interact and see how I can help. WHAT IS YOUR MESSAGE TO YOUNG PEOPLE ABOUT NTDS? The main thing is that treatment is available in many different places. My message to young 64 FOOTBALL4GOODMAGAZINE | MARCH2020 65 ACONVERSATIONWITHWILLIAMTROOST-EKONG