World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Day January 30, 2023

Act Now. Act Together. Invest in NTD.

According to the World health Organization, NTDs affect more than 1 billion people globally, leading to catastrophic health, social and economic consequences. NTDs are mainly found in tropical impoverished communities. There are about 20 diseases that have been labelled as NTDs, these diseases are caused by different pathogens like parasites, bacteria, fungi and viruses. Some examples are Buruli ulcer, Chagas disease, Dengue, Chikungunya, Dracunculiasis, Leprosy, Human African Trypanosomiasis, Leishmaniasis, etc.

Inequalities drive NTDs globally, these inequalities need to be addressed both nationally and internationally to reach those at most need with much needed interventions. In addition, funding for NTDs is much less than funding for other diseases nationally and internationally. Most national NTD programs are largely dependent on donor funding, so a more sustainable approach is needed for a lot of countries to take more ownership of these programs. Funding is also limited, so investing in NTDs can lead to the scale up of cost-effective interventions for the control and elimination of NTDs.

At the International Society for Infectious Diseases (ISID), our mission is to support health professionals, non-government organizations, and governments around the world in their work to prevent, investigate, and manage infectious disease outbreaks when they occur. ISID has a particular focus in countries that have limited resources and which disproportionately bear the burden of infectious diseases.

The Society is dedicated to developing partnerships and to finding solutions to the problems of infectious diseases across the globe and encourages the collaborative efforts of human health, veterinary health, and environmental health communities working locally, nationally, and globally for best control and management of infectious diseases.