Context: Recently, delegates at the 74th World Health Assembly unanimously adopted a proposal by the UAE to declare January 30 as ‘World NTD Day’.
Neglected Tropical Diseases

• NTDs are a group of infections that are most common among marginalized communities in the developing regions of Africa, Asia, and the Americas.
• They are caused by a variety of pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and parasitic worms.
• These diseases generally receive less funding for research and treatment than malaises like tuberculosis, HIV-AIDS and malaria.
• Some examples of NTDs include snakebite envenomation, scabies, yaws, trachoma, Leishmaniasis and Chagas disease.

The WHO’s new road map for 2021–2030 calls for three strategic shifts to end NTDs

• From measuring process to measuring impact.
• From disease-specific planning and programming to collaborative work across sectors.
• From externally driven agendas reliant to programmes that are country-owned and country-financed.

Significance of global recognition

• NTDs affect more than a billion people globally, according to the WHO. They are preventable and treatable.
• However, these diseases and their intricate interrelationships with poverty and ecological systems — continue to cause devastating health, social and economic consequences.
• A major milestone in the movement to recognize the global burden of these diseases was the London Declaration on NTDs that was adopted January 30, 2012.
• The first World NTD Day was celebrated informally in 2020. This year, the new NTD road map was launched.