THE IMPORTANCE OF NTDs
Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a group of disabling, disfiguring, and often life-threatening diseases affecting more than one billion people worldwide living on less than USD 1.25 a day.
Beyond their negative impact on health, NTDs contribute to an ongoing cycle of poverty and stigma that leaves people unable to work, go to school or participate in family and community life. While the neglect has persisted at all levels, in recent years the international community has come together and declared renewed enthusiasm to control and finally eliminate NTDs. Several individuals, groups and NGOs in Europe and North America are now dedicated to lobbying for support for NTD control and elimination.
The World Health Assembly Resolution, WHA 66.12, calls for country ownership and expanded interventions by member states against neglected tropical diseases in order to reach the targets agreed in the Global Plan to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases 2008–2015. The importance of country ownership has been elaborated further in the WHO’s roadmap for accelerating work to overcome the global impact of neglected tropical diseases and is further emphasized in the London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases.