Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a group of bacterial and parasite related diseases. NTDs are considered “neglected” because they have often been ignored as they tend to impact those living in extreme poverty, where there is little access to safe water and healthcare.
NTDs include Chagas disease; dengue and chikungunya; dracunculiasis; echinococcosis; foodborne trematodiases; human African trypanosomiasis; leishmaniasis; leprosy; lymphatic filariasis; mycetoma and more. NTDs gained more recognition as a major global health concern in 2015, through the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. In 2021, it was estimated that over 1.65 billion people needed treatment for NTDs. NTDs are responsible for around 120,000 deaths every year and many people suffer from prolonged illness.
Besides the clear impact on individual health and mortality, these diseases also have huge economic tolls. A meta-analysis of the financial impact of NTDs on individuals impacted showed that many patients, who are already struggling financially, had to pay high out of pocket costs for care due to NTDs. Researchers were able to calculate catastrophic health spending for an infection with visceral leishmaniasis. Visceral leishmaniasis is a parasitic infection that impacts the liver and spleen and is fatal in 95% of untreated cases. Researchers estimated that an episode of infection cost families 10% of their annual household income.
According to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) eliminating leprosy, leishmaniasis, and Chagas disease would result in over $10 billion in out-of-pocket healthcare cost savings. They estimate that for every dollar spent on eliminating these diseases, there is a $25 return on investment.
There are many ways to treat and prevent these diseases, from ensuring access to antibiotics and antiparasitic medication, to distributing mosquito netting and ensuring access to clean water.
Health Equity Alert
This year, funding for USAID was disrupted on an enormous scale. USAID was started by President Kennedy in 1961 and it became an independent agency in 1998. Analysis has shown that the work USAID did over the last two decades saved over 92 million lives. Brook Nichols, an epidemiologist at Boston University, created a model that suggests that there have been over 21,000 deaths due to lack of funding for NTDs due to USAID grant termination in the last year.
What work has been done to prevent these diseases?
There have been some fantastic recent wins when it comes to NTDs:
- In Fiji and Burundi, Trachoma, which is the leading infectious cause of blindness, was eliminated this year. In 2024, Viet Nam did the same.
- Between 2020 and 2025, 10 countries have eliminated African sleeping sickness. African sleeping sickness is a parasitic infection passed by the bite of the tsetse fly. This infection can cause death within weeks.
- Overall, the global burden of malaria has decreased over the last two decades due to a number of local and international interventions. However, as climate change continues, it is estimated that there will be an increased disease burden as the pathogens that cause those infections will start moving to new areas as the climate warms.
- In Nigeria, diverse local programs have dramatically reduced the national disease burden of lymphatic filariasis, commonly known as elephantitis, by 72% over the last few years.
Health Equity Alert:
We’ve seen from the way local programs have successfully eliminated and reduced diseases that these efforts can’t simply have a “top-down” approach. There is increasing recognition that training and collaborating with the local healthcare workforce and building lasting partnerships works better than simply “administering humanitarian aid” without building sustainable infrastructure. Organizations like Partners in Health work with local organizations and focus on building health infrastructure.
This isn’t a comprehensive list of the work that local and international groups have done to combat NTDs. But it’s important to recognize the importance of this work. Global and local work around health equity and healthcare access is the cornerstone of creating healthy communities and a healthy world. It’s been said many times that diseases don’t care about borders. We’ve seen that in action with the recent statements that Chagas disease is now endemic in the United States. Eliminating NTDs across the world means more people have opportunities to thrive and succeed.
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