Project Zero is an ongoing series to raise awareness around neglected tropical diseases and efforts to fight them. At least 18 of these diseases affect more than 1 billion people worldwide -- but they're not on the public's radar.

Project Zero’s centerpiece is a campaign to help eliminate sleeping sickness, a deadly parasitic infection caused by the bite of a fly. More than 75 percent of sleeping sickness cases are found in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It’s extremely rare to eliminate a disease. Click here to contribute to this effort.