Significant progress has been made in the elimination, control and eradication of neglected tropical diseases in the African region.
These diseases can be devastating, including causing severe pain, disabilities and deformities, malnutrition, stunted growth and cognitive impairment.
Anaemia caused by some of these diseases has a direct impact on maternal mortality.
Neglected tropical diseases are a set of 20 diseases or disease groups that occur predominantly in tropical and subtropical areas.
They include lymphatic filariasis, more commonly known as elephantiasis, onchocerciasis or river blindness, schistosomiasis, or bilharzia, as well as human African trypanosomiasis, often called sleeping sickness.
The global Neglected Tropical Disease global roadmap 2021—2030 seeks to reduce by 90% the number of people requiring treatment for the diseases.
Leprosy has all but been eliminated as a public health problem, with only the Comoros yet to achieve the elimination goal in one of its three islands.
The Expanded Special Project for the Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases, a World Health Organization (WHO) initiative launched in 2016, has achieved significant progress in the control and elimination of neglected tropical diseases.
Advocacy by WHO and partners for treatment saw more than 2.7 billion tablets donated to African countries and distributed between 2016 and 2020, with 38 countries reaching 100% geographical coverage over one year for at least one neglected tropical disease.
The number of people requiring preventive chemotherapy decreased from 592 million in 2016 to 588 million in 2019.
With the launch of the Neglected Tropical Disease global roadmap in 2021 and the development of the African Tropical and Vector-borne Disease framework for 2022—2030, WHO hopes to build on the lessons from previous neglected tropical disease programmes, including innovations emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic response, to support countries in developing multi-year master plans.