World NTD Day 2022: Achieving health equity to end the neglect of poverty-related diseases

Overview

The World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day is observed on 30 January each year. The first-ever World NTD Day was celebrated on 30 January 2020. This international day is an opportunity to re-energize the momentum to end the suffering from these 20 diseases that are caused by a variety of pathogens including viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi and toxins.

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are widespread in the world’s poorest regions, where water safety, sanitation and access to health care are substandard. NTDs affect over 1 billion people globally and are caused mostly by a variety of pathogens including viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi, and toxins.

Objective

The day provides an opportunity to focus on the millions of people who have limited or no access to prevention, treatment and care services. World NTD Day aims to bring together civil society advocates, community leaders, global health experts and policymakers working across the diverse NTD landscape, and unifies partners behind a common goal: to Face NTDs and #EndTheNeglect.

Facts

• Despite COVID-19, a total of 757 million people received NTD treatment in 2020.
• More than 1 billion are affected by NTDs. In total, 1.7 billion need preventive treatment every year.
• Unprecedented progress has been achieved. 43 countries have eliminated at least one NTD.

Key messages

• Re-energize the movement to combat NTDs 2022: the year to shine a spotlight on NTDs and the suffering they cause, and to call for comprehensive, universal care for everyone affected. It is our collective responsibility to end diseases that are entirely preventable.
• Use innovative services to ensure continued access to NTD services during COVID-19
  Countries and NTD programmes must use innovations that have emerged before and during the pandemic to address disruptions and delays to the delivery of services.
• Encourage collaboration across sectors such as health, education, nutrition, mental health
  Countries can beat NTDs through bold investments, actions and collaboration. WHO’s new NTD roadmap focuses on the value of integrating approaches and focusing on a number of specific NTDs.
• Engage and support community health workers and volunteers
  Community health workers and volunteers can deliver effective NTD health services, especially to marginalized groups but these workers need support and protection.
• Engage communities
  Informed and educated communities can help in the prevention, control and elimination of NTDs.

100% Committed movement

The 100% Committed movement will be led by countries affected by NTDs, backed by bold financial and political commitments from a wide range of stakeholders, and championed by civil society, influencers and people affected by NTDs, who will call for action.

• Kicking off on World NTD Day (30 January 2022), we are launching an energising global movement to end NTDs.
• The movement – called 100% Committed – will be led by countries affected by these diseases. It will be backed by bold financial and political commitments from a wide range of stakeholders and championed by civil society, influencers and people affected by NTDs, who will call for action.
• It will be energising, positive and aspirational in tone, highlighting how we are 100% Committed to achieving the WHO’s ambitious target of 100 countries eliminating an NTD by 2030 and, ultimately, ending NTDs.
• It will showcase the 43 countries that have already eliminated at least one NTD, proving that ending NTDs is possible. We will push for greater action and commitments on this basis.

We are 100% Committed to ending NTDs. Together, we call on our governments, parliamentarians, mayors and local governmental leaders, as well as continental and regional bodies, pharmaceutical companies, donors, multilateral organisations, academic and research institutions, non-governmental organisations and young leaders around the world, to show they are 100% Committed to ending NTDs by signing the Kigali Declaration on NTDs and pledging commitments.

• Incredible progress made so far proves that ending NTDs is possible.
• Efforts to tackle NTDs are a global health success story, but there is still a lot more work to be done before the world is free of NTDs:
  • These diseases continue to affect 1.7 billion people around the world. 
  • The COVID-19 pandemic is threatening hard-fought progress.
  • Concerted action is needed to avoid COVID-19 and future pandemics unravelling years of progress and exposing millions of people to these diseases.
• Ending NTDs will make our health systems more resilient and our world a more equitable and safer place.
• Ending NTDs is possible within our lifetime – now is the moment for leaders to make commitments.

Source of info: WHO, World NTD Day

Recommended readings

• Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)
• The first-ever World NTD Day
• World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Day 2021
• The Road map for Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) 2021–2030