At the recent “Uniting to Combat NTDs: Translating the London Declaration into Action,” we had a chance to catch up with Adiele Onyeze, Neglected Tropical Diseases and Strategic Management Expert at the World Health Organization (WHO).

Global Network: What is one wish that you have that will help control NTDs in Africa?

Adiele Onyeze: There’s a lot for the community to be proud of when we’re able to achieve or eliminate NTDs from Africa. And to make that happen we need to accelerate progress in terms of scaling up implementation. We need to ensure we complete the mapping of NTDs in Africa and that we build capacity. However, to make all this more effective we need to strengthen coordination and make sure that we are able to mobilize resources. We are glad that [the Global Network], as a major partner, is working with AFRO, and together we are moving this agenda forward. We can actually look forward to success in the near future.

Global Network: What is the significance of mapping NTD control and targeting specific communities for mass drug administration (MDA) and implementation?

AO: We’re focusing on 10 NTDs, five of them are amenable to what we call preventive chemotherapy while the others require intensive case management. For us to make a real impact, we need to know where the diseases are. Up until now only about half of the countries have been mapped, so we do not know where the disease really is in about half of the countries. There’s an urgent need to complete the mapping of all of these NTDs, especially now with funding available for the preventative chemotherapy NTDs.

The mapping is kind of complicated because you’ve got to assess the burden of five different diseases using different diagnostic methodologies, affecting different parts of the communities, and using different expertise. Some will be experts in laboratory, some will be experts in working with flies or vectors, and some will require experts in immunonology who will be able to read blood thin strips. Others will have to look at stools, some urine. A lot of work has to be done to be able to actually map these NTDs and that’s why we have now moved on to AFRO – to get the countries to work around an integrated approach to coordinated mapping.

Global Network: Can you give an example of what NTD mapping and MDA implementation looks like on the ground?

AO: We had a workshop in Lusaka, Zambia to work with all the partners to agree on one coordinated guide for mapping. At that meeting we also trained about 30 experts who are now available to work with each of the countries to develop, what we’d now see as, a three-phase approach to complete all of the mapping, plus the budget. The second phase will be for the experts to go and do the actual mapping. Lastly, the third phase will involve using the results of the map and refining each country’s individual plans, needs for MDAs and operational requirements. The mapping process is key, but we’ve now coordinated to make it efficient, fast and successful!

Global Network: What is one thing you are most proud of in your work with NTDs?

AO: I’m proud of the countries that have now taken it upon themselves to give top priority to NTDs and to establish strong NTD programs. I am also happy for many of the partners who are now committing to support this process as NGOs, donors and also as industries. Actually, I’m proud of this community and this momentum that is now developing around NTDs. It’s a cause for joy, because it’s going to make a big difference in the lives of many people, especially in Africa.

At “Uniting to Combat NTDs: Translating the London Declaration into Action,” we had a chance to catch up with Dr. Leda Hernandez, Division Chief of the National Center for Disease Prevention and Control Department of Health in the Philippines.

Global Network: What are the most common Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) in the Philippines?

Dr. Leda Hernandez: We have six of the most common NTDs in the Philippines, namely the soil transmitted helminths, schistosomiasis, leprosy, rabies, food and water born (diseases), and lymphatic filariasis. These NTDs affect the health of the community, especially the children and the pregnant women.

Global Network: What are some ways that NTDs impact children?

DLH: If pregnant women are affected by NTDs and have a lot of worms, it can cause anemia and have affects on the fetus. If young children are infested with these worms, their growth and development will also be affected. With respect to the school, children impacted by more worms have lower grades and often miss more days of school.

Global Network: Do you believe that Asia will meet the goal to eliminate and control NTDs by 2020?

DLH: If some of our neighbor countries look for funds aside from government, like we did, I believe it can. The main thing is the government should have most of the share and look to other partners to fill in the gaps. If the government does not have a share of the budget for the elimination of the NTDs, the government should lead or should be supporting that elimination strategy.

Global Network: What has compelled you to work on this issue?

DLH: I think it’s the commitment and I’m very proud to say that we still have many committed health workers in the Philippines, especially those working in the field. I remember when we started with no budget and we asked health workers to contribute to some of the activities and to ride on some already existing programs. We were able to map where lymphatic filariasis cases were most prevalent and because of that we were able to convince our policymakers that it’s still re-emerging and it’s still a public health threat, just like NTDs.

 

 

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) were featured as the topic for ABC News’ weekly health “tweet chat” this week. ABC’s chief medical correspondent, , hosted the chat and was accompanied by our very own , and , along with various institutions and individuals, such as , and . It was an hour dedicated to NTD tweets, where experts responded to questions from other participants.

Using hashtag , Dr. Richard Besser moderated the discussion by posing several questions regarding NTDs, including its causes, who it impacts, preventable methods, what organizations are currently doing and how individuals can help.

View our favorite highlights from the chat below.

We hope that all those involved continue the conversation and help us put an end to NTDs by 2020!

 

 

 

At the recent “Uniting to Combat NTDs: Translating the London Declaration into Action,” we had a chance to catch up with Mwele Malecela, Director General of the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) in Tanzania. NIMR was originally established by  a Parliamentary action in 1979 as an organization under the Ministry of Health. It is the largest public health research institution in Tanzania.

Global Network: Why should the global community care about Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs)?

Mwele Malecela: There are several reasons – the most fundamental one is that this is a major problem, but it disproportionately affects the poorest of the poor in our countries. So the global community has to care because this affects, what we call, the bottom billion. It affects [people] who are already extremely poor and puts them in a cycle of poverty… In most of these places which we are talking about, three to five of the diseases can affect the same person.

It’s an issue of humanity, it’s an issue of caring, of taking these diseases for what they are and the fact that they’re extremely debilitating. They cause a lot of stigma and discrimination. They’re diseases that like I said, affect the poorest of the poor.

Global Network: How do partners work together in bringing necessary aid to endemic countries?

MM: We have the pharmaceutical companies who donate the drugs, in some of the cases it’s as long as it takes to get to rid the world of these diseases.

Then we have the donor agencies. The donor agencies help fund the delivery of these drugs… We then have the NGOs who support that work as well, and they support some of the delivery. They bring the much-needed capacity to ensure that the drugs are delivered in the way that they should be delivered. They help and conduct training…

We have the research and academia. The research organizations contribute [by] asking the various critical questions that need to be asked in terms of the program, because a good program has to be based on evidence, and if there are problems that are coming up in the program, we have to come back and say well you know, can research be done to answer these questions?

Global Network: How has the London Declaration helped support progress towards the control and elimination of NTDs?

MM: The London Declaration to me, for someone who has worked in NTDs in lymphatic filariasis for example, for the past 23 years, and more in neglected tropical diseases in the past six years, I think this has been an unprecedented show of unity. I mean it’s one of those things that has really galvanized the NTD community into action.

…[W]e’ve always known that fighting against these NTDs is the right thing to do, it’s the best thing to do, and fighting against them in an integrated manner, is even better and it will be very, very useful to the countries as well. So all this we have known, but it’s about actually making it happen, and I think what the London Declaration has been able to do is it has allowed us to now say it can actually happen. It can actually be a reality. The whole concept of ending these seven NTDs by the year 2020 is something that is actually a goal that can be put in sight.