Trends in Parasitology
Volume 23, Issue 11, November 2007, Pages 511-514
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Recent progress in integrated neglected tropical disease control

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pt.2007.08.015Get rights and content

Three years have passed since the publication of the first of a series of policy papers, which first highlighted the under-appreciated global burden of the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and then outlined a rationale for linking vertical control strategies for the seven most prevalent NTDs in a cost-effective pro-poor package of preventive chemotherapy. Since then, global advocacy for these conditions has increased and, with it, new funds for scale-up of integrated NTD control in sub-Saharan Africa. Recent speeches by the Director General of the World Health Organization at regional meetings have referred to NTDs as important global health priorities (www.who.int/dg/speeches/2007). Outlined here is a summary of the recent progress in global efforts to integrate NTD control, with an emphasis on the challenges that lie ahead.

Section snippets

Integrated control of the neglected tropical diseases through preventive chemotherapy

Policy papers published between 2004 and 2006 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and a World Health Organization (WHO) meeting in Berlin* have emphasized several common features about the seven most prevalent neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) of humans – the three soil-transmitted

Progress in Africa

Integrated programs at some level are underway in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Togo and Uganda. In October 2006, the Global Network and the George Washington University hosted a two-day conference in Washington, DC, USA to explore the next steps in the scale-up of the NTD control. Participants included several representatives from African Ministries of Health, including Dominique Kyelem (Burkina Faso), Amadou Garba (Niger), John Gyapong (Ghana), Richard Ndyomugyenyi (Uganda) and

Opportunities and challenges

Although we are still in the nascent stages of scaling-up and integrating the control of NTDs, several important new trends and issues have already arisen. As indicated earlier, there might be multiple opportunities for linking NTD control with malaria control 1, 6, 11, 13, 14. There is extensive geographical overlap and co-endemicity among some of the NTDs with falciparum malaria, especially hookworm and schistosomiasis [15], the co-morbidities of which with malaria result in severe anemia.

Future perspective

The integrated control programs that are underway currently will provide a proof-of-concept for NTD integration and yield useful lessons on how to overcome operational challenges. Inherent to the success of integrated in-country NTD control programs is international support and funding. Increased financial support from national governments, the World Bank and philanthropic organizations will be necessary for endemic countries to launch successful, cost-effective control programs. Concurrently,

Conflict of interest statement

Peter Hotez is President of the Sabin Vaccine Institute, which receives support for activities unrelated to NTD control from Merck & Co., Inc., Wyeth, and GlaxoSmithKline. Peter Hotez is also director of the Human Hookworm Vaccine Initiative, supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), and is an inventor on an international patent application (PCT/US02/33106) entitled Hookworm Vaccine. Sophia Raff works for the Human Hookworm Vaccine Initiative, which is supported by BMGF. David

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