African Govts Act Together to Fight Neglected Tropical Diseases

January 30 is World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day. Leading organisations and countries announced new commitments to help strengthen efforts to end neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). These commitments were made by endemic countries, donors, and private sector partners as a response to a global call for urgent investment to control, eliminate and eradicate NTDs by 2030.

The new commitments include funding and drug donations, as well as new endorsements of the Kigali Declaration signed in June 2022 on NTDs - a high-level, political declaration that is mobilising political will, community commitment, resources, and action, and securing commitments needed to end the suffering caused by NTDs.

Ghana has signed the Kigali Declaration on NTDs, making the total number of endemic country signatories 12. This includes signatories from June 2022: Botswana, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, United Republic of Tanzania, Timor Leste, Uganda, and Vanuatu. Since its launch, the Declaration has garnered 61 signatories, mobilising over U.S.$1.6 billion for NTDs and over 19 billion tablets/units of medicine. Signatories include donor countries, pharmaceutical companies, multilateral organisations, NGOs, philanthropy organisations, civil society, community-based organisations, and others.

NTDs are a group of infectious diseases that affect over 1.7 billion people around the world. NTDs debilitate, disfigure, and can be fatal. They are also a significant barrier to economic development.