Global Community Should Work Together To Continue To Make Progress On NTDs

Forbes: Look What Happens When You Pay Attention To Neglected Tropical Diseases
Bruce Y. Lee, associate professor of international health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, executive director of the Global Obesity Prevention Center, associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, and director of operations research at the International Vaccine Access Center

“…Five years after the London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) convened to set ambitious goals for NTD control for the year 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) recently announced ‘unprecedented progress against’ 10 NTDs. … [This progress] is the result of important turning points that have occurred over the past two decades … One turning point was the London Declaration. A second has been the resources, efforts, and energy provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. … A third has been the coming together of some higher-income country governments, pharmaceutical companies, and organizations to tackle NTDs together. … Another turning point has been the growth of the scientific community studying NTDs, which has led to the formation of a new open access journal: PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases … But the war on NTDs is far, far from done and NTDs still remain very neglected. … [W]hen large parts of the world are being sapped by NTDs, potential markets and the world’s economy as [a] whole cannot grow and benefit everyone. Yes, we are all connected in a complex system. Now if everyone can realize the benefits of working together” (4/24).

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