Overview

The neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) include lymphatic filariasis, schistosomiasis, soil transmitted helminthiases, leprosy, buruli ulcer, yaws and other treponematoses, onchocerciasis, dracunculiasis, blinding trachoma and human African trypanosomiasis.

Globally, an estimated one billion of people are at risk of being infected by NTDs, and approximately 534,000 deaths occur annually as a result of NTDs. Up to 90% of the burden of NTDs is believed to occur in Africa in 2007 . Many people are often affected by more than one of these diseases.

Although medically diverse, NTDs share features that allow them to persist in conditions of poverty, overlapping and thriving in the heat and humidity of tropical climates. Of the 14 diseases listed as NTDs occurring in the Region, most are parasitic, spread by insects whilst others multiply through contaminated water and soil infested with the eggs of worms. Poor sanitation and limited access to basic health care play a role in the heavy burden of these diseases in poor communities.

Member States have set up national programs in an attempt to control and or eliminate these neglected diseases. In most cases, these national programs utilize the same personnel and target the same communities. It has become increasingly difficult to maintain these vertical programs especially in view of dwindling resources and competition with high profile priority diseases. The integration of these control programs has been proposed at various levels as a means to address this challenge.

The other main challenges in tackling NTDs include:

• devising strategic approaches that address neglected tropical diseases as a package so that their importance (based on burden of disease estimates) becomes more prominent,
• how to sell the control of neglected tropical diseases as a complement to the control of the big three (HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Tuberculosis) in pursuing the goal of poverty alleviation,
• securing adequate funding for the control of NTDs utilizing the available evidence that investing in the control of neglected tropical diseases can yield high rates of economic returns at least for diseases like onchocerciasis and Lymphatic Filariasis
• taking to scale the implementation of integrated vector management.

For more information please contact:

Dr Adiele Onyeze
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Tel: +47241 39161