Tackle Neglected Tropical Diseases as a developmental issue - WHO expert
Nations suffering from Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) have been asked to tackle the disease as a developmental issue, the Director in charge of Global Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) Programme at the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Ibrahima Socé Fall, has said.
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For him, NTDs are conditions that are directly linked to development problems, explaining that the disease normally affect vulnerable people living in poor conditions with lack of access to clean water and sanitation facilities.
He was of the view that by providing basic necessities to vulnerable people, including potable water, sanitation facilities and good healthcare systems, many nations, particularly those in Africa will be able to overcome NTDs.
What are NTDs?
NTDs are a diverse group of conditions caused by a variety of pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi and toxins and associated with devastating health, social and economic consequences.
NTDs are mainly prevalent among impoverished communities in tropical areas. It is estimated that NTDs affect more than one billion people, while the number of people requiring NTD interventions (both preventive and curative) is 1.6 billion.
NTDs include Buruli ulcer, dengue, dracunculiasis (Guinea-worm disease), foodborne trematodiases, human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness), leishmaniasis, leprosy (Hansen’s disease), lymphatic filariasis, mycetoma, chromoblastomycosis, onchocerciasis (river blindness), rabies, scabies, schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminthiases, snakebite envenoming, trachoma, and yaws.
The pressing issues
In an interview with Graphic Online facilitated by Speak Up Africa, a Dakar-based policy and advocacy action tank, on Thursday, January 25, 2024, Dr Socé Fall, expressed the concern that for a very long time, NTDs have not been prioritised in terms of diagnosis and treatment because they are not affecting developed countries.
He explained that because NTDs do not have significant impact on global healthcare, the global community has not been that concerned about investing in it elimination.
Citing an example to juxtapose his stance, he said when COVID-19 started and had global impact, it received a lot of funding from universal sources and that unlike COVID-19, NTDs only affect poor people in poor countries, hence receiving very little attention from world leaders.
Dr Socé Fall further cited Ebola as an example of a disease that received very little attention when it was only killing people in developing countries but started getting global attention when it started killing people in the developed world.
“…the same with Ebola. When it was only in Africa nobody cared about it. But when people started getting infected in developed countries, they invested a lot of money. Now we have vaccines for Ebola,” he explained.
He said although there are effective interventions that could have helped to weed out NTDs, such interventions have not been effective as expected because they have not received backing from the global community.
He expressed worry about the attitude with which the global community treats NTDs, saying that it was time for world leaders to place more attention on NTDs in order to eliminate them from the world.
Dr Socé Fall, who is a fellow of the Faculty of Public Health of the Royal College of Physicians, UK, has therefore advised countries where NTDs are health concerns to prioritise investment in diagnosis and treatment by themselves by showing leadership and political will.
“They should know that by addressing NTDs, they are addressing key development problem… and that the social and economic return will be high for any country that addresses NTDs,” he indicated.
For him, “You cannot achieve any meaningful milestone in terms of socio-economic development” without addressing health challenges such as NTDs.
In addition, he said, “We need deliberate efforts to increase funding and investment towards national and international efforts to support disease counter programmes.”
Action required
Dr Socé Fall further stressed the need to improve healthcare infrastructural development in order to provide the needed care services for people suffering from NTDs.
Similarly, he also called for more funding to facilitate improvement in the development of medications for preventions, including vaccines and development of new tools to fight NTDs.
For him, building resilient healthcare systems will enable countries, particularly those in developing world to handle diseases effectively, including NTDs.
He was of the view that investing in strong healthcare systems will place countries in better positions for diagnosis, prevention and treatment.
Dr Socé Fall also called for more advocacy on NTDs affected countries to raise awareness on the disease, its diagnosis and possible treatments, observing that many people are unaware of NTDs.
Additionally, he called for political commitment in NTDs affected countries to help address the problem, urging countries to improve the supply of potable water and the provision of sanitation facilities, describing the disease as poverty induced.
For him, although building partnerships with international partners was key in eliminating NTDs, “We should not wait for international partners before we act to protect our populations.”
He said even though advocacy has been one of the strategies at the global level to fight NTDs, the affected countries must lead the process, adding that communities must be engaged and educated on the disease.
Successes
Dr Socé Fall commended countries affected by NTDs for their efforts in fighting the disease, saying, “We have seen significant progress in terms of controlling the disease.”
He indicated that the WHO expects that by 2030, at least, a 100 countries will eliminate one NTD, adding that currently, 50 countries have at least, eliminated one NTD.
He commended Togo for eliminating four NTDs and also praised the efforts of Senegal in that regard.
“We need to continue investing in NTDs to be able to eliminate it,” he said, adding that the WHO has been working with countries and partners to attract more investment in the NTDs fight, particularly in the areas of providing medications and technical guidelines to aid NTDs interventions.
Dr Socé Fall said WHO also monitors interventions to provide data on the disease, noting that one of the key priorities at the global level was to get NTDs on the global health architecture.
He said addressing NTDs will help countries to achieve universal health coverage. What it means is that combatting NTDs and reaching all communities in need can put countries on the pathway to achieving universal health coverage. Where there is poverty, NTDs are commonly an accepted part of life.
It is for this reason that the “No to NTD Movement” has been launched to help fight NTDs in Africa. The “No to NTD Movement” is a grassroot movement aimed at increasing awareness, prioritisation and national commitment to accelerate the control and elimination of NTDs in Africa. This movement showcases the critical role each and every one of us has to play to eliminate neglected tropical diseases.
Some of the successes of the “No to NTD Movement” include high-level engagement with government, private sector, youth movements and civil society; increased efficient domestic resources for sustainable funding; and strengthened capacities of national NTD programs and civil society organisations to implement sustainable strategies.
