World Shoe Fund

The World Shoe Fund is part of a social enterprise solution [developed by Samaritan’s Feet International] that is showing great promise in the ability for countries and local communities to address the deadly effects of Soil-Transmitted Helminths and other Neglected Tropical Diseases. Our World Shoe Wash & Wear Program utilizes the scientifically-proven benefits of prophylactic footwear and proper hygiene practice to disrupt the deadly cycle of chronic poverty and preventable disease.

Neglected Tropical Diseases are preventable and exist in part because of the lack of preventive measures such as footwear and proper hygiene practice to protect feet. A meta-analysis, including over 400 studies, reported that footwear use was significantly associated with lower odds of major NTDs including Buruli ulcer, Zoonotic hookworm infections (cutaneous larva migrans), tungiasis, hookworm infection, and other soil-transmitted helminths infection. However, the inability to afford footwear and a lack of proper hygiene practice among impoverished populations limits prevention and control of these diseases.

New shoes allow for children to attend school and reduce missed learning days. Protective footwear and boots increase productivity and reduce missed earning potential for workers. New industrial manufacturing and indigenous retail options being developed will transform the lives of thousands within a country. The World Shoe Program is collaborative by design from manufacture to distribution, empowering end-users and affected populations every step of the way.

In answer to the call of the World Health Organization and the 2030 Road Map to eradicate NTD’s, the World Shoe Program was designed as a cross-cutting solution that enables countries to transform their strategic efforts to address Neglected Tropical Diseases through localized protection, prevention, promotion, and economic development measures. Our social enterprise model incorporates a multi-disciplinary approach to health care that empowers partnership among government agencies and the general population to accomplish the shared goal of disease eradication and personal empowerment.