What Would We Do Without Alyssa Milano?

Bill Clinton must have dreamt up this Global Initiative scam knowing all the empty-headed Hollywood nitwits would lap up his drivel, among other things.

Enter Alyssa Milano, pinup girl and new HuffPoster. She's found her calling: The dreaded NTD's.

The Threat of Neglected Tropical Diseases

I learned about NTDs when I heard Dr. Peter Hotez speak at least year's Clinton Global Initiative and I felt compelled to help raise awareness of this injustice. In the past year, we have made tremendous progress in educating people about the impact of NTDs on the developing world -- but the fact of the matter is that most people still don't know what they are.

These diseases are rightfully called "neglected" because the lives they destroy are those of "the poorest of the poor" -- one billion men, women and children who have no power, who have no voice. Diseases like river blindness, that's caused by black flies that bite their victims near the eyes and leave behind parasitic worms to destroy sight. And snail fever, which you get by simply bathing or washing in a stream, and which causes severe liver or kidney damage. And elephantiasis, so named because it leads to unspeakable deformities, like swelling of the legs to elephant-sized proportions, making even walking impossible.

Well, I know why Clinton wants to fight elephantiasis. But enough about Hillary. Just look at the allstar cast lined up.

Jackie Chan, Dikembe Mutombo, Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, Senator Kennedy and I are among the many people who are strongly supporting the STOP NTDs Campaign. Now, it's your turn to take action. Log on to www.stopntds.org, watch the campaign video and sign the online petition and, if you can, make a tax-deductible donation. Remember, just $25 will protect 50 people for an entire year.

Together, we can help lift the world's most neglected people out of poverty and disease.

So Jackie Chan, Dikembe Mutombo and Ted Kennedy walk into a bar...

UPDATE: Via reader Meredith, check out this quote from Details.

“The fact that these diseases can be eradicated was like, well, this is a no-brainer,” she says. “It’s like a sale in global health!”

Alyssa, baby, the MENSA application is in the mail.