By Anna Johnston and Anupama Tantri

Last week the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a regional organization comprising ten countries, celebrated Dengue Day.  This is an excellent way to raise awareness about the burden of dengue which infects 50 and 100 million people worldwide every year, three-quarters of them living in Asia and the Pacific. It is also an excellent opportunity to raise awareness about the other neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) that affect almost 200 million people living in ASEAN member countries alone.

Nine of the ten ASEAN countries are endemic for one or more of the NTDs most common in this region, including lymphatic filariasis (LF), soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH), trachoma and schistosomiasis.

Over the last decade, the ASEAN community has come together to address key regional and global health priorities such as HIV/AIDS, tobacco use, non-communicable diseases and emerging infectious disease threats, such as SARS and dengue.  ASEAN countries have shown great progress in many of these areas. For example, countries in the region have some of the highest rates of childhood immunizations and have substantially reduced the number of cases of malaria over the last two decades.  Public health models and expertise from ASEAN countries are copied and applied around the world.

The ASEAN community has also made significant progress in combating NTDs, particularly Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.  Cambodia was the first country in the world to reach the World Health Organization target of deworming 75 percent of school-age children against STH. These countries are also on track to achieving elimination of LF by 2016. However, other countries within the ASEAN community still have much more to do before reaching NTD control and elimination goals. At present, while individual countries may achieve national goals to control and eliminate NTDs, regional and global goals cannot be achieved without greater regional cooperation and new political and financial commitments.

Just last week the Global Network released a new report titled, “Regional Health Cooperation to Achieve Equity and End the Burden of NTDs among ASEAN Member States” The report outlines recommendations and potential opportunities for ASEAN countries to work together and with ASEAN partners such as Australia, China, Japan, Korea and the United States.

With cost-effective strategies and clearly defined control and elimination targets, ending the burden of NTDs can bring the region one step closer to a healthy ASEAN by 2020. The ASEAN member states have an opportunity to lead the world in the effective control and elimination of these diseases of poverty, and demonstrate that success is feasible with strong leadership, decisive action and regional collaboration.

Click here to read the ASEAN NTD report released by the Global Network