be controlled, prevented, and even eliminated using low-cost, effective, and feasible solutions. Understanding the economic burden of NTDs on productivity and health care costs can help to assure governments and donors that the resources directed toward NTDs represent a good investment. (10) Research and development efforts are immediately needed for all NTDs, especially to advance next-generation treatments, interventions, and diagnostics to ensure that countries endemic for NTDs are able to implement and sustain NTD control programs. (11) Epidemiological data that identify at-risk populations and ensure that these populations receive consistent and sufficient doses of treatment for their diseases are critical to developing robust NTD control strategies. (12) The benefits of deworming are immediate. A rigorous, randomized controlled trial has shown school-based deworming treatment to reduce school absenteeism by 25 percent. School-based deworming also benefits young siblings and other children who live nearby but are too young to be treated, leading to large cognitive improvements equivalent to 1/2 of a year of schooling. (13) Improved access to water, sanitation, and hygiene can also reduce the transmission of NTDs, particularly NTDs caused by parasites. 5. Definitions In this Act: (1) Global Fund The term Global Fund means the public-private partnership known as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria established pursuant to Article 80 of the Swiss Civil Code. (2) Neglected tropical diseases