World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day:
Delegates at the 74th World Health Assembly unanimously adopted a proposal by the United Arab Emirates. to declare January 30 as ‘World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Day’’.
- Neglected Tropical Diseases are infections that are most common among marginalized communities in the developing regions of Africa, Asia and the Americas.
- Caused by a variety of pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, protozoa and parasitic worms.
- They generally receive less funding for research and treatment than malaises like tuberculosis, HIV-AIDS and malaria.
- Some examples include snakebite envenomation, scabies, yaws, trachoma, Leishmaniasis and Chagas disease.
- It was on this day that the London Declaration on NTDs was adopted, January 30, 2012.
- The first World NTD Day was celebrated informally in 2020.
- NTDs affect more than a billion people globally. They are preventable and treatable.
- However, these diseases — and their intricate interrelationships with poverty and ecological systems — continue to cause devastating health, social and economic consequences.
