The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa, Dr Luis Sambo, has called for increased commitment and better coordinated support by partners and donors to tackle neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) which affect mainly people living in rural areas.
Dr Sambo made the call in an address to the opening session of a consultative meeting on NTDs which began in Brazzaville, on Wednesday.
In the address, the Regional Director acknowledged the support of the pharmaceutical industry, donors, national governments, experts, and the research community as well as non-governmental development organizations towards the reduction of the burden of NTDs in the Region.
“With such massive support and commitment from stakeholders we are set towards making NTDs history”, Dr Sambo. His speech was read on his behalf by the Deputy Regional Director at the WHO Regional Office for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti.
The Regional Director also spoke of the negative health and economic impact of the diseases on people, and illustrated the gravity of the NTD burden with consequences of being infected with intestinal worms or river blindness.
He said: “Mothers and children, who are infected with soil transmitted helminthiases, (intestinal worms) develop anaemia and other complications as the disease progresses.
Some children drop out of school in order to take care of their parents who are disabled by NTDs such as trachoma, onchocerciasis (river blindness) and lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis). This often results in little or no education for these children…and this perpetuates the cycle of poverty for families”.
Dr Sambo expressed satisfaction with the steady progress being made in delivering interventions to control NTDs and in strengthening national NTD programmes in the Region. He stated that this progress was exemplified by the delivery in 2011 of medicines to 203 million people at risk of elephantiasis, bilharzia, river blindness and intestinal worms. In addition cases of sleeping sickness, leprosy and Buruli ulcer are on the decline and three additional countries – Burkina Faso, Eritrea and Togo have been confirmed free of local transmission of Guinea worm disease.
“With these examples, there is hope that countries in the Region can eliminate NTDs, Dr Sambo added. “These diseases have been neglected for far too long and it is heartening to note that countries in our region and the international community are now uniting to tackle them – and to change the lives of millions of people suffering or affected by NTDs.”
On the all-important issue of coordination, Dr Sambo acknowledged the serious efforts being made by countries to integrate their NTD programmes and interventions, for more efficient and effective action, and acceleration of progress. He stated that these efforts would be helped by improved coordination of NTD stakeholders in countries and urged the permanent secretaries and high level government officials as well as other partners at the meeting to deliberate on innovative and effective coordination mechanisms that can improve synergies, reduce transaction costs for all and assure better results and impact.
The Regional Director also said that the pace of progress was not sufficient as more needed to be done to achieve the 2020 NTD goals of controlling and eliminating 10 NTDs by the end of the decade.
On funding, Dr Sambo informed participants that the WHO Regional Office for Africa had prepared the financial resource requirements and gaps for national NTD programmes, based on country NTD Master Plans, and taking into account the 2020 NTD goals.
While calling for more commitment from Member States, donors and partners, he commended Ghana for setting aside $1million for its NTD programme in 2012, and Nigeria for committing $5million to the Ouagadougou –based African Programme for Onchocersis Control Programme.
Concluding, Dr Sambo pledged WHO’s commitment to harmonizing country and stakeholders’ efforts and creating an enabling environment for accelerating the implementation of NTD programmes in African Region.
The three-day meeting is being attended by, among others, permanent secretaries, technical experts and Directors of Medical Services from Ministries of Health, representatives of donors and pharmaceutical firms, non-governmental development organizations and other experts.
About NTDs
NTDs are a group of 17 parasitic and bacterial infections that are the most common afflictions of the world’s poorest people. They blind, disable and disfigure their victims, trapping them in a cycle of poverty and disease. Research shows that treating NTDs lifts millions out of poverty by ensuring that children stay in school to learn and prosper; by strengthening worker productivity; and by improving maternal and child health.