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Over more than a decade, incredible progress has been made to combat neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), ancient infectious diseases that strike at the heart of poor and marginalized communities around the world.
Since 2012 alone, 31 countries have eliminated at least one NTD, thanks to a coordinated global effort led by the World Health Organization (WHO) and ministries of health, with unprecedented support from pharmaceutical companies and a variety of private and multilateral donors, such as the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Eight years later, our work is not done, with more than 1.5 billion people today still at risk of these physically painful and socially stigmatizing diseases.
On the first ever annual World NTD Day, we are proud to join more than 250+ organizations to celebrate the progress that has been made and to push for continued investment and action.
Check out some fun facts and good news about global progress to wipe out these diseases.
10 Reasons to Celebrate the First Annual Day of Diseases You’ve Never Heard Of
In honor of the first BIG DAY for NTDs, RTI breaks down some interesting and unusual facts about these hard-to-pronounce diseases and efforts to fight them.
Celebrating the ENVISION impact
For eight years, USAID’s ENVISION project didn’t just deliver billions of treatments to help end NTDs, it delivered healthier futures for millions of people. Though ENVISION has come to an end, many countries are on track to reach NTD control and elimination goals thanks to its accomplishments. Learn more.
The next Act (ion) to End NTDs: Supporting countries for sustainable elimination of NTDs
Building on more than a decade of USAID-supported efforts, the Act to End Neglected Tropical Diseases | East program partners with governments and other stakeholders to build sustainable, country led NTD programming, with a focus on national planning and financing. The program supports countries in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean on their journey to self-reliance by helping to create sustainable NTD programming within robust and resilient health systems. Learn more.
New U.S. NTD legislation signed into law
The End Neglected Tropical Diseases Act, recently signed into U.S. law, bolsters support for USAID’s NTD program, and calls for coordination with other development efforts, such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, water and sanitation, and education. Learn more.
Improving the supply chain of NTD medicines in Nigeria
Nigeria has one of the largest populations at risk for NTDs spread across an expansive landscape, which can make it challenging to get medicines to hard-to-reach locations. With funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, RTI will pilot an innovative supply chain platform called TraceRx to improve the tracking and management of donated NTD medicines. Learn more.