Els Torreele

The Open Society Foundations work to build vibrant and tolerant societies whose governments are accountable and open to the participation of all people. They seek to strengthen the rule of law; respect for human rights, minorities, and a diversity of opinions; democratically elected governments; and a civil society that helps keep government power in check. They help to shape public policies that assure greater fairness in political, legal, and economic systems and safeguard fundamental rights. They implement initiatives to advance justice, education, public health, and independent media. They build alliances across borders and continents on issues such as corruption and freedom of information. Working in every part of the world, the Open Society Foundations place a high priority on protecting and improving the lives of people in marginalized communities.

Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative provides drug research and development services. It specializes in analyzing the causes of and in developing medicine and treatments for neglected diseases. It specializes in the study of neglected tropical diseases, such as sleeping sickness (Human African Trypanosomiasis), Leishmaniasis, Chagas, malaria, pediatric HIV, and filarial diseases. It develops a research and development portfolio that includes projects from discovery through to post-registration phases. Its focus areas encompass regional disease-specific platform development, technology transfer, and public responsibility and awareness advocacies. The organization was founded in July 2003 and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.