9 February 2018 | Geneva −− An index developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to measure coverage of services for the control, prevention and elimination of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) is to be shared with Heads of State who are part of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) 1 and who are attending the 32nd meeting of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The index, based on 2017 data submitted to WHO by ministries of health, evaluates progress made against five high-burden neglected tropical diseases which are widespread in many countries of WHO’s African Region and elsewhere in tropical and sub-tropical areas of the world.
“The data show immense progress in many African countries, with some doing extremely well in tackling these diseases of poverty” said Dr Mwelecela Malecela, Director, WHO Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases. “A lot more can be achieved with sustained political commitment and domestic funding of programmes that can effectively integrate approaches in the current global drive towards elimination.”
With the help of Uniting to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases (UTCNTDs)2 and for the second time, African Heads of States will be reviewing progress and deliberate how to improve access to essential health services to the most marginalized communities.
Among countries reporting excellent data are Eswatini, Malawi, Togo and Sierra Leone – all of which have achieved coverage of more than 75% of their populations in need of treatment.
WHO is preparing a broader index for regional and country levels, including services for the other 15 neglected tropical diseases, to measure the evolution of control interventions.
“We tend to measure progress in controlling individual diseases. Using an integrated index means progress is measured as a whole and ensures no one is left behind,” said Dr Mathieu Bangert, Epidemiologist, WHO Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases.
Ministries of health and partners support WHO to coordinate large-scale treatment campaigns with medicines donated free of charge, reaching hundreds of millions of people who are usually simultaneously affected by more than two or more neglected tropical diseases.
“We reached over one billion people during the past three years3 globally by coordinating the shipment and delivery of an average of 16000 tonnes of medicines annually, mainly to countries in Africa which has one of the highest burdens of neglected tropical diseases,” said Dr Afework Tekle, Project Manager, WHO Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases.
In addition to ALMA, the WHO index will be used to measure progress in implementation of universal health coverage.
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1Founded in 2009, ALMA is a ground-breaking coalition of African Heads of State and government working across country and regional borders to achieve a malaria-free Africa by 2030. All African Union countries are members of ALMA.
2‘Uniting to Combat NTDs’ is a collective of partners working to fulfil the London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases. They support WHO and national programmes to address the burden of NTDs posed by 10 of the 20 current NTDs.
3In 2015, 2016 and 2017 – one billion people were reached with preventive treatment for at least one of these five neglected tropical disease – lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, soil-transmitted helminthiases, schistosomiasis and trachoma. In Africa, WHO’s Expanded Special Project for Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases (ESPEN) works with ministries of health and partners to coordinate implementation.
Ashok Moloo
WHO/HTM/NTD
Telephone: +41 22 791 1637
Mobile phone: +41 79 540 50 86
molooa@who.int