The WHO Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases manages a diverse portfolio of around twenty diseases, each with its own unique epidemiology and programmatic challenges. The last decade has seen significant progress in the battle against neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)– including the development and delivery of new preventive measures and interventions, the expansion of donor support, the establishment of new strategies and guidelines, and the strengthening of NTD-related structures, improved collaboration and country-level commitment.
There were concurrent substantial advancements on monitoring and evaluation of NTD programmes, notably vital advancements in the development of integrated tools in response to national programme needs, revision and development of new standardized disease-specific guidance.
However, some critical gaps remained, such as the mainstreaming of monitoring and evaluation of NTDs into national health information systems and the development of a coherent and comprehensive framework embracing all NTDs. Further action is therefore required across the full scope of 20 diseases for effective monitoring, evaluation and research.
The Strategic Technical Advisory Group (STAG) in its 12th meeting (April 2019) requested the constitution of a renewed Working Group on Monitoring, Evaluation and Research (WG MER) to attain the following main roles and functions:
- Provide advice to the STAG-NTD and the NTD Department on standardized definitions of the overarching and cross-cutting indicators; Coordinate efforts to identify, prioritize and provide technical advice on critical monitoring, evaluation and research actions to address gaps and support reporting on the global indicators outlined in the NTD Road map 2021 – 2030.
- Review and standardize tools for reporting on the indicators, their base-line values for 2020 and subsequent annual figures
- Identify gaps in the current knowledge and understanding of the NTD road map indicators and advise the Department on how to fill the knowledge gaps
- Advise the Department on the use of modelling to forecast progress and macro level programmatic decisions to meet the 2030 goals and targets.
- Advise the Department on the state of art tools for data visualization for widest and easy access of analyzed information for decision making and information sharing
- Promote inter-programmatic learning on best practices for integration and mainstreaming of M&E for NTD programmes into national health information systems.
- Facilitate inter-agency and inter-sectoral interactions and technical collaborations for innovation to harness the potential of other information systems and surveillance platforms to complement or supplement M&E for NTD programmes.
- Review the Work of any sub-group established by the WG-MER for a particular purpose.
The current WG MER comprises 24 members, with representation of expertise and regions. Members of the WG-MER are expected to provide the Department and the STAG-NTD with high quality, evidence-based advice on monitoring and evaluation needs and identify associated research priorities. Progress reports and outputs of the WG MER will be communicated via the NTD department website.