Category Archives: WHO

The London Declaration: One Year Later

london declaration, NTDs, WHO

 

This month marks the one-year anniversary of the London Declaration—an unprecedented  pledge by a group of public and private partners to control or eliminate 10 NTDs by 2020. This includes an uptick in drug donations, research and development and bilateral support for NTD programs around the world.

Several reports and updates have been released today to showcase the progress since 2012 as well as the goals and challenges for 2013 and beyond.

From Promises to Progress: The First Annual Report on the London Declaration on NTDs,”  issued by Uniting to Combat NTDs, documents key accomplishment in  2012 and targets moving into 2013. This group also issued a London Declaration Scorecard, which was developed to hold partners accountable for their commitments, improve transparency and make visible areas where additional collaboration is possible or where gaps remain.

Caroline Harper, Chair of the UK Coalition against NTDs, and Chief Executive of Sightsavers, says: “Many of the steps forward in the fight against NTDs over the past 12 months are the result of public and private partners working together.  One of the biggest achievements is the development of the London Declaration Scorecard as a new tool to unite all NTD partners.  It will drive collaborative working, outlining the responsibilities of the wide variety of partners involved.” Continue reading →

Keeping score: Will the new NTD Scorecard keep global action on track?

london declaration, NTDs, Onchocerciasis, River blindness, sitesavers, Trachoma, WHO


By Simon Bush, Director of Neglected Tropical Diseases at Sightsavers. See his recent article in the Huffington Post here.

Today sees the publication of an NTD Scorecard which will bring further transformation to the way global partners, from endemic governments, and pharmaceutical companies to NGOs, are working together to achieve the elimination of this group of debilitating diseases.

Developed by the London Declaration partners and published alongside From Promises to Progress, a new report on NTDs, the Scorecard will help translate the aspirational vision of elimination of ten of the NTDs by 2020 into a reality.

When I first started working on NTDs 13 years ago, I never would have imagined progress like this. Elimination of NTDs such as blinding trachoma and river blindness (onchocerciasis) seemed such a distant goal. How things have changed!  We are now seeing promises turn into action which will make a colossal difference to the lives of over a billion people who are affected by NTDs.

The Scorecard sets out the strategic milestones that are crucial if we’re going to see real progress on these ten NTDs – in terms of raising funds, conducting research and development, and ultimately delivering the right number of treatments, to the right people, in the right communities. It’s all about achieving the scale-up needed. Continue reading →

Sixty-Fifth Session of the WHA Highlights Progress in NTD Control, Adopts New Resolution on Schistosomiasis Elimination

NTDs, schistosomiasis, WHO

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) were on the agenda this week at the Sixty-fifth session of the World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva, Switzerland.

A major milestone was reached when the WHA today approved a new resolution on elimination of schistosomiasis.

Schistosomiasis, also known as “snail fever”, is a disease caused by parasitic worms carried by fresh water snails. It is found predominantly in tropical and sub-tropical climates, and infects 207 million people in 74 countries worldwide. Schistosomiasis ranks second only to malaria as the most common parasitic disease.

This new resolution urges Member States to: ensure access to essential drugs against schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminth infection, mobilize resources in order to sustain activities for control of schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis, promote access to safe water, sanitation and health education, mobilize resources in order to sustain activities for control of schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis, and include schistosomiasis control measures into other disease control programs and health systems.

While reinforcing past resolutions, this resolution also marks a new development in efforts to combat schistosomiasis because it sets the stage for changing the goal from control to elimination.  The resolution calls for the Director-General and the WHO to prepare guidance for reaching elimination and to develop processes to ascertain and certify when transmission has been interrupted and the diseases has been eliminated.

Programs against schistosomiasis have been very successful and many countries are ready to make the request for certifying elimination.  In passing this resolution, the WHA is ensuring that support is available for other countries to do the same.  Iran, Japan, Jordan, Mauritius, Morocco, Tunisia, parts of China and some Caribbean countries and territories are all ready to certify for elimination.   While much of the world is still working towards controlling schistosomiasis, these places are demonstrating that, ultimately, elimination of this debilitating disease is possible!

At the assembly, NTDs were also brought to the spotlight by Secretary of Health Surveillance, Jarbas Barbosa and Professor Therese N’Dri-Yoman, President of the Sixty-fifth World Health Assembly.

Barbosa spoke at the conference about the efforts that the Brazilian government has adopted for the elimination of NTDs and their view of NTD control as a key part of poverty alleviation.   He talked about , an initiative of the Brazilian Federal Government to eliminate extreme poverty in the country, which also incorporates a plan for NTDs. “We believe this integration promotes a synergistic opportunity to reach the poorest groups in our country,” Barbosa said.  He also mentioned that Brazil is close to achieving the elimination of two neglected diseases: lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis.

In addition, at a lunch-time technical briefing on May 21, delegates discussed the relationship between NTDs and poverty.  Professor N’Dri-Yoman described the movement to control and eliminate NTDs as an “unprecedented force” that now exists among the global health community. A number of other speakers emphasized the importance of collaboration as vital to ensuring continued progress.

Click here to learn more about NTDs.

Click here to learn about all previous WHA Resolutions on Neglected Tropical Diseases.

Global Network, IDB, and PAHO Discuss Elimination of NIDs in Latin America and the Caribbean

Global Health, IDB, Latin America and the Caribbean, NIDs, PAHO, WHO

On Tuesday, May 15, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Global Network, and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), got together with close to 100 international NTD experts, members of Latin American civil society and private sector stakeholders to celebrate the work that has been done to address neglected infectious diseases (NIDs)* in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), and invigorate energy for the path that lies ahead.

The LAC region has had incredible success in the control and elimination of NIDs. This is no small part due to the region’s culture of prevention, which has lead to historical success in combating polio, measles and rubella.  LAC governments have also had major success in prioritizing immunization—to great economic benefit.  Where 15 years ago many countries could not afford immunization programs, the region now averages between 77 and 96% coverage of various vaccines.

Spirits were high as Honduran Ambassador to  the U.S.  Jorge Ramón Hernández Alcerro joined Dr. Neeraj Mistry, Managing Director of the Global Network for NTDs; Dr. Jon Andrus, Deputy Director of the PAHO; and Dr. Ferdinando Regalia, Social Protection and Health Division Chief at the IDB as a featured speaker. Continue reading →

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