This film is part of a larger series we produced for the Mectizan Donation Program in which we detail the full history and journey of Mectizan pills. From the initiation of testing Ivermectin as a treatment for Onchocerciasis and on to the rollout of its distribution across the world, the series shares the success of a simple yet effective way to bring life-changing results to many millions of people worldwide.

In this, the 3rd film of the 5-part series, we highlight the pivotal role of Community-Directed Distributors who play a key role in Mectizan donation. These volunteers ensure that members of their communities have constant access to treatment for Onchocerciasis and Lymphatic Filariasis, and reach some of the most remote parts of their countries in order to ensure these diseases can be eliminated.

We treated this particular episode like an action film, where CDDs are our hero. With fast and engaging montages we wanted to make sure the viewer is as impressed with these volunteers work as we are.

Staying the course is what it has taken to see River Blindness, a remote neglected tropical disease carried by the bites of black flies, slowly becoming a disease of the past.

In 1987, Merck committed to donate Mectizan – as much as needed, for as long as needed – with the goal to help eliminate river blindness. To celebrate the Mectizan Donation Program‘s 35th anniversary we went through our archives of footage, some filmed by us, some by scientists many years ago, and worked with a South African graphics artist to tell the story of 35 years of progress towards eliminating one of the most robust diseases known to mankind.

With a bespoke composed soundtrack and in-house voice-over, we managed condense 35 years into a powerful 3 and a half minutes!

The film was shown at the annual Mectizan Expert Committee meeting in Malawi in 2022, and since was sent out by MSD CEO Rob Davis to all their staff.

When it comes to making films for our clients, getting to the heart of what makes them tick plays a central role within the narrative, helping us communicate the essence of what they do.

Fronted by the Public Health Informatics Institute‘s Executive Director, Vivian Singletary, this film delves deep into the company’s purpose whilst explaining their role in providing access to health informatics (the study of methods that help process & distribute patient data) so that public health professionals can improve lives.

Humanity has eradicated one dangerous disease: smallpox. Under the right circumstances, we are on the path to achieve elimination or eradication of four others.

We were commissioned to create a series of films aimed at increasing awareness and accelerating progress towards disease elimination, particularly around neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) such as polio, lymphatic filariasis, river blindness & malaria.

By focusing on the key lessons from the successful smallpox and ongoing polio eradication campaigns, and hearing from the people at a global and national level, our films in GLIDE’s ‘Eliminating Diseases’ video series sought to  raise the profile of NTDs amongst stakeholders, funders and governmental organisations.

We’re proud to share that our film generated over 1,000 views on GLIDE’s YouTube channel, and over 150,000 combined video plays on their social media channels. In addition, page visits to the organisation’s website rose by 161%, along with a 187% increase in new users, with the most notable increase seen in visitors from target country, Cameroon, which saw a 100% rise.

As a crowning achievement, we along with Gong Communications were nominated as finalists in the 2023 Sabre Awards in the Central African category for work in raising awareness through GLIDE’s Webisodes Campaign.

A locally shot film, told by locals, for the wider world and putting the focus on how developments in technology now put diagnosis at your fingertips.  

Innovation is fundamental to achieving elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases and FIND wanted the drivers of this important project to tell their own story. 

With travel restrictions in place we went to our trusted and incredibly hardworking contact, cameraman George Muiruri, who followed a day in the life with the team running this prototype test for schistosomiasis in Kwale, Kenya.

This is a good illustration of how we apply our approach of working with local film crew to make the most of their expertise and knowledge, whilst reducing the environmental footprint that film production has historically been associated with.