WHO calls for action on neglected tropical diseases

19 February 2015 – Seventeen neglected tropical diseases, such as dengue, leprosy or dracunculiasis (guinea-worm disease), currently affect low and middle income countries. Although progress has been made in recent years (e.g. the number of cases of dracunculiasis has dropped from 1800 in 2010 to only 126 in 2014), WHO urges affected countries to invest 0.1% of current domestic expenditure on health to tackle this problem.
Moreover, rapid and unplanned urbanization, climate change and population movement make it urgent to bring these diseases under control in order to reduce their spread – as “Some of the neglected tropical diseases are no longer strictly tropical,” says Dr Dirk Engels, Director of the WHO Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases Department.

To learn more about neglected tropical diseases, you can visit the WHO website at: http://who.int/neglected_diseases/en/