One Disease
Systematically targeting and eliminating one preventable disease at a time.
One Disease believes nobody should die of a preventable disease such as scabies. Its first initiative is to eliminate crusted scabies (CS) and scabies as public health issues from East Arnhem Land and then eliminate scabies nationally.
2014 Pitch
Funds raised: $38,850
One Disease pitched at TFN’s Sydney event on 9 April 2014, Dr Sam presented the audience with solid credentials and a compelling and straightforward goal: to change the lives of 203 children, stemming from a ground-breaking vision to systematically target and eliminate one disease at a time.
The impact...
An engaging story starts with a hook– it grabs your attention and builds empathy with character, while the plot momentum and tension keeps you hanging on every last word. A good social investment story is much the same. One Disease's first initiative has been to address scabies and crusted scabies as public health issues in Arnhem Land before moving to eliminate scabies as a health issue from the national landscape altogether.
Incredulous that (in their own words) 'one room could dig so deeply'. One Disease raised $38,850 from the assembled audience - enough to set their initiative off at a galloping pace with effective skin screenings, additional nursing staff and the upskilling of four community workers. With these funds, One Disease is reducing the burden of scabies in Maningrida - a particularly significant outcome for a community where, at any point in time, 1 in 3 children under five years of age has scabies.
One Disease have completed a successful, and accelerated, expansion into Maningrida over the last 12 months and are now well positioned to extend their program across the Northern territory. The elimination of scabies is a material factor in reducing the 10-20 year life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians and its sustained defeat spills over into other areas synonymous with disadvantage. One Disease is helping remove one of the barriers to consistent education (and in doing so, levelling the road to meaningful employment) by ensuring our remote Indigenous children have the best possible start to a healthy life.
Read their Impact Report