Helminth Elimination in the Pursuit of Sustainable Development Goals: A 'Worm Index' for Human Development

摘要

A new “worm index” confirms a strong association between helminth infections and impaired human development. In June 2012, a landmark United Nations conference on sustainable development was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Known as Rio+20, the conference focused on a new set of sustainable development goals (SDGs) that would begin following the sunset of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015 [1]. Like the MDGs, the SDGs will focus on poverty reduction, gender equality, and human and economic development, but in addition the SDGs will also emphasize food security and key issues related to the environment, such as climate change, the oceans, and biodiversity [1].