A sensitive matter

Of course, it shows no signs of becoming a bestseller, and it wasn't written (we can say that) by some of the young influencers of the moment, whose book launches and signings usually draw hundreds, sometimes even thousands of readers (another way of putting it). So, for those involved in the publishing project that was announced during the recent Madrid Book Fair, it seemed normal that only about 20 interested people and friends would attend the formal presentation of this small book, which has as unappealing a title as Don't Forget the Forgotten Diseases (Lunwerg, Planeta, 2026).

However, what we did know was that this modest booklet, which is part of an initiative by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health and combines graphic strips headed by Forges' work with short texts by various authors, is dedicated to a very relevant issue: the marginalization that studies and treatments of some diseases are subjected to.

In short, the subject matter isn't appealing, as is evident. Even worse: it's surrounded by the clear evidence that most citizens in the favored parts of the world have no idea what neglected diseases (EO) or neglected tropical diseases (ETD) are and, therefore, those involved in the making of the book had to be satisfied with such an audience, although with the hope that the seed thrown to the wind might perhaps fall into some fertile furrow.