The Seventy-fourth World Health Assembly recognised January 30 as World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day through the unanimous approval of decision WHA74(18) by WHO Member States. This Day is now one of 11 Global Health Days and 2 Global Health Weeks recognised by WHO. The day raises awareness of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and encourages action to eliminate them.
Diseases that many people may never have heard of are being fought daily in the world’s most isolated locations. Twenty such ailments are officially recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and are referred to as neglected tropical diseases.
The reason they are referred to as neglected diseases is that governments, pharmaceutical corporations, and benefactors fail to recognise and address them.
It is difficult to overlook these diseases in Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) projects in South Sudan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Honduras. The following lists four neglected tropical diseases that are in the communities along with steps to avoid, manage, and eradicate them.
1. Noma
At the Sokoto Noma Hospital in Nigeria’s far northwest, an MSF team collaborates with the Ministry of Health to provide therapy, reconstructive surgery, and mental health care to noma patients in a stigma-free environment. The disease known as noma can be fatal for 90% of children who have it, and it deforms those who get it.
Mouth ulcers that rapidly develop into gangrenous lesions that eat away at facial tissue are the first signs of noma. Noma is curable with early access to antibiotics. To raise awareness and preventative actions, our project also emphasises community outreach initiatives. According to the WHO, noma is the most recent neglected tropical illness. In December 2023, it was officially added to the list following years of advocacy by Noma survivors and supporters. Although we anticipate that the inclusion of noma on the list would result in increased funding for research, prevention, and treatment of the illness, new advancements have not yet been observed. For the 140,000 persons who are thought to get infected each year, knowledge about noma will be revolutionary.
2. Schistosomiasis
Schistosomiasis is found in tropical and subtropical countries worldwide, but in South Sudan, the highest prevalence of the disease is in Jonglei state, where MSF operates a hospital in the remote town of Old Fangak. Old Fangak experiences frequent and severe flooding, and our teams suspect that many women and girls there are suffering from an advanced form of schistosomiasis, female genital schistosomiasis. Schistosomiasis is sometimes referred to as snail fever because it is caused by a parasite in snails, which makes people who live near lakes and rivers susceptible to the disease.
The development of a vaccine is still in its early phases, and many of the disease’s interventions are preventative. However, those who have already contracted the infection will find little solace in this. Female genital schistosomiasis can progress to malignancy and causes crippling inflammation in those who have it. Our goal in Old Fangak is to make sure that women and girls receive the best care and an accurate diagnosis.
3. Visceral leishmaniasis
Most frequently encountered in Brazil, East Africa, and India, visceral leishmaniasis is also known as kala azar, or “black fever” in Hindi. For many years, we in Ethiopia have been treating visceral leishmaniasis. The parasite that causes this neglected tropical disease attacks the tissue of those who have it, and it is spread by sandfly bites. The initial mild symptoms, which are frequently confused with those of other illnesses, progress to a protracted fever, enlarged spleen, anaemia, and significant weight loss. It can turn deadly very fast if left untreated.
Fortunately, a remedy exists. An infected person’s life can be saved by a combination of two medications administered daily for 17 days. Although ongoing activism has led to advancements in recent years, timely diagnosis and access to medications are still obstacles in the treatment of visceral leishmaniasis in East Africa.
4. Sleeping sickness
In the past 25 years, the number of persons with sleeping sickness, also called human African trypanosomiasis, has decreased by 97%. The countries of Equatorial Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Togo, Uganda, and Chad eradicated this neglected disease in 2024. It was caused by parasites from tsetse fly bites. Guinea has now joined the group of nations that have eradicated sleeping sickness.
People who have sleeping sickness eventually go into a coma as a result of the parasites attacking their brain and spinal cord. It is lethal without treatment. One in twenty people died from the only treatment available before the 1970s, which was made from arsenic. Thanks to the efforts of our partner organisation, Drugs for Neglected Diseases, a straightforward and secure oral therapy is now available.
