Control of neglected tropical diseases needs a long-term commitment
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Control of neglected tropical diseases needs a long-term commitment Yaobi Zhang1*, Chad MacArthur2, Likezo Mubila3, Shawn Baker1
Abstract Background: Neglected tropical diseases are widespread, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, affecting over 2 billion individuals. Control of these diseases has gathered pace in recent years, with increased levels of funding from a number of governmental or non-governmental donors. Focus has currently been on five major ‘tool-ready’ neglected tropical diseases (lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminthiasis and trachoma), using a package of integrated drug delivery according to the World Health Organization guidelines for preventive chemotherapy. Discussion: Success in controlling these neglected tropical diseases has been achieved in a number of countries in recent history. Experience from these successes suggests that long-term sustainable control of these diseases requires: (1) a long-term commitment from a wider range of donors and from governments of endemic countries; (2) close partnerships of donors, World Health Organization, pharmaceutical industries, governments of endemic countries, communities, and non-governmental developmental organisations; (3) concerted action from more donor countries to provide the necessary funds, and from the endemic countries to work together to prevent cross-border disease transmission; (4) comprehensive control measures for certain diseases; and (5) strengthened primary healthcare systems as platforms for the national control programmes and capacity building through implementation of the programmes. Conclusions: The current level of funding for the control of neglected tropical diseases has never been seen before, but it is still not enough to scale up to the 2 billion people in all endemic countries. While more donors are sought, the stakeholders must work in a coordinated and harmonised way to identify the priority areas and the best delivery approaches to use the current funds to the maximum effect. Case management and other necessary control measures should be supported through the current major funding streams in order to achieve the objectives of the control of these diseases. For a long-term and sustainable effort, control of neglected tropical diseases should also be integrated into national primary healthcare systems.
Background A group of chronic and debilitating conditions, caused by parasitic, bacterial, and viral infections, is defined as the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) [1,2]. These NTDs are the most prevalent diseases in the poorest populations in the world, putting an estimated 2.7 billion people at risk [3]. They cause blindness (for example, onchocerciasis and trachoma) [4-7], disfigurement (for example, lymphatic filariasis, leishmaniasis, leprosy, and Buruli ulcer) [8-12], and are often life threatening at a later stage of the disease (for example, African trypanosomiasis, * Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Helen Keller International, Regional Office for
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