World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Day was celebrated for the first time on January 30. Its main objective was to celebrate the achievements made towards control of the world’s NTDs, yet recognise the daunting challenges we face in the control and elimination of these conditions.

What are NTDs?

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) is a diverse group of communicable diseases that prevail in tropical and subtropical conditions in 149 countries and affect more than 1 billion people and cost developing economies billions of dollars every year.

They are frequently clustered together geographically, and individuals are often afflicted with more than one parasite or infection. More than 70 per cent of countries and territories that report the presence of neglected tropical diseases are low-income or lower middle-income economies.

Infections are caused by unsafe water, poor housing conditions and poor sanitation. Children are the most vulnerable to these diseases that kill, impair or permanently disable millions of people every year, often resulting in life-long physical pain and social stigmatisation.

Populations living in poverty, without adequate sanitation and in close contact with infectious vectors and domestic animals and livestock are those worst-affected.

Lacking a strong political voice, people affected by these tropical diseases have a low profile and status in public health priorities. Lack of reliable statistics and unpronounceable names of diseases have all hampered efforts to bring them out of the shadows.

They include dengue, rabies, blinding trachoma, Buruli ulcer, endemic treponematoses (yaws), leprosy (Hansen disease), Chagas disease, human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness), leishmaniasis, cysticercosis, dracunculiasis (guinea-worm disease), echinococcosis, foodborne trematode infections, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis (river blindness), schistosomiasis (bilharziasis) and soil-transmitted helminthiases (intestinal worms).

Tackling NTDs

Many NTDs can be prevented, eliminated or even eradicated with improved access to existing safe and cost-effective tools.

Effective control can be achieved when selected public health approaches are combined and delivered locally. Interventions are guided by the local epidemiology and the availability of appropriate measures to detect, prevent and control diseases.

Implementation of appropriate measures with high coverage will contribute to achieving the targets of the WHO NTD Roadmap on neglected tropical diseases, resulting in the elimination of many and the eradication of at least two by 2020.

The WHO South-East Asia Region is targeting elimination of lymphatic filariasis, kala-azar, schistosomiasis, trachoma and leprosy as a public health problem and is also seeking to end yaws.

The region has the highest burden of lymphatic filariasis, accounting for 53 per cent of global population requiring preventive chemotherapy.

The region also accounts for 74 per cent of new leprosy cases reported globally, nearly 41 per cent of global kala-azar cases and 42 per cent of children who require preventive chemotherapy for soil-transmitted helminthiasis.

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