The Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) is organizing a consultative meeting on 27 May 2020 to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on implementation of programmes for NTDs. The three-hour virtual meeting opens at 14:30 and will bring together key WHO Regional Office staff, implementing partners and researchers.
Discussions will cover a wide range of topics including the various WHO guidance, impact of COVID 19 on programme implementation and supply chain management, post-COVID -19 transition planning to deliber on strategies guided by mathematical models that assess the impact of interruption of major NTD interventions.
Already, delivery of services at health facility level have been affected, due to restriction movements that have influenced health-seeking behavior. Furthermore, the repurposing of NTD staff to COVID-19 response has created challenges for the programme in many countries.
Discussions will also focus on essential health services for NTDs and vector control implementation, with dengue concurrently affecting many countries along with COVID-19.
As the world comes together to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to ensure that essential services that deal with long-standing health problems remain in place to protect the lives of people with neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and other health conditions.
The pandemic and NTDs
Since the pandemic started, WHO has published guidance so that health services, including national programmes, stay actively engaged in ensuring an effective and rapid response to COVID-19 while ensuring that lifesaving disease control services are sustained.
Consistent with public health measures and to limit the transmission of SARS-Cov-2, WHO issued a general recommendation on 1 April 2020 to postpone community-based surveys, active case-finding activities and mass treatment campaigns for neglected tropical diseases until further notice.
However, the recommendations highlighted the need to continue critical interventions intended to support prompt diagnosis, treatment and care of neglected tropical diseases for patients presenting to healthcare facilities, and the implementation of essential vector control measures, wherever possible.
WHO is also closely monitoring and assessing the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on NTD interventions and preliminary assessments show the pandemic has affected interventions in three major areas: implementation at country level, supply chain management of health products, including delivery of medicine and diagnostics and financial support.