Coordinating hemispheric action against screwworm, a flesh-eating parasite causing billions in losses and immense animal suffering

**The screwworm barrier has collapsed. We have 12-18 months to coordinate a hemispheric response. That's where we come in.** 

In September 2025, screwworm was detected in Mexico, 70 miles from the US border. The Panama biological barrier that protected North America for two decades has failed. USDA just announced a $100M innovation fund. For the first time in a generation, continental control and eradication is politically viable.

**The Problem**

The New World Screwworm is a flesh-eating fly that lays eggs in open wounds. The larvae burrow into living flesh, consuming the host from inside. Infected animals experience excruciating pain, stop eating, and die slowly over days to weeks. This parasite occasionally infects humans too.

This happens to hundreds of millions of animals every year across South America. The annual economic cost is $3.5-7 billion in livestock losses alone. The suffering inflicted on wild animals is unquantified but likely orders of magnitude larger.

Screwworm was eliminated from the US and Central America using sterile insect technique between the 1960s and early 2000s. South America was left behind because of coordination failures and lack of international support.

**Why Now**

The barrier collapsed. Screwworm is moving north toward US agricultural interests, creating unprecedented political will. Without coordination, countries will act defensively. South America remains infested, the US spends billions on perpetual containment, and hundreds of millions of animals continue to die in agony.

New technologies like gene-drive-enhanced sterile insect technique could make eradication faster and cheaper than ever before.

**What We Do**

Screwworm Free Future ("Futuro Libre de la Bichera") coordinates the scientific, economic, and political work needed for continental elimination. We are the only organization working full-time on screwworm eradication advocacy.

Since founding in 2024, we've established relationships with agricultural officials across South American countries, met with USDA, published in the Washington Post, and secured partnerships with leading researchers. Our Executive Director brings a track record of mobilizing funding and policy momentum for neglected disease areas and is supported by a team and volunteers across the Americas. 

Our theory of change is simple: eradication requires multiple countries to commit simultaneously. 

We evaluate the viability of continent-wide eradication approaches, build relationships with decision-makers across the Americas, perform high-impact research, and facilitate coordination where currently there is little.

**Your Impact**

Accelerating eradication by one year would spare hundreds of millions of animals while generating billions in economic value. We believe our cost-effectiveness is on par with top animal welfare interventions.

This is the most important moment for screwworm elimination in 20 years. Your support helps us seize this narrow political window before it closes.

Screwworm Free Future / Futuro Libre de la Bichera / Futuro Livre de Bicheira

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