RUTSHURU, Congo

Quiz time: So what do hundreds of millions of ordinary schoolchildren around the world possess that American kids almost never get?

Answer: Worms.

My win-a-trip journey to Africa, with a teacher and a student, has taken us to regions where most people are “poly-parasitized.” So while in Congo, I picked up doses of deworming medicine for myself and those travel partners who wanted it. (It’s over-the-counter here. In the U.S. the simplest approach is to ask a vet for medication to deworm a St. Bernard.)

AIDS is the disease in the global spotlight, capturing celebrity attention and billions of dollars in treatment programs — and that’s terrific, because it still kills almost three million people a year. But it’s also time to recalibrate our efforts and devote more money to other ailments.

Some 40 million people have H.I.V. or AIDS, and 600 million have hookworms. Here in Congo, one study found that 82 percent of children have worms, and partly as a consequence 70 percent are anemic.