Global report on neglected tropical diseases 2024

WHO/Fabeha Monir
Bangladesh: Responding to a dengue outbreak.

Global report on neglected tropical diseases 2024
Stronger together, towards 2030

This document is the second in a series of global reports describing progress towards the 2030 targets set in Ending the neglect to attain the Sustainable Development Goals: a road map for neglected tropical diseases 2021–2030. It describes a wide range of activities, accomplishments and challenges across the portfolio of NTDs and across all six WHO regions.

The report presents epidemiological and programmatic data for 2022, which were gathered, compiled and analysed in 2023. In some cases, 2023 data are available and presented; in other cases, less recent information is included, when 2022 data are not available. In addition, it presents the main facts or events that occurred in 2023.

In line with the road map’s companion document Ending the neglect to attain the Sustainable Development Goals: a framework for monitoring and evaluating progress of the road map for neglected tropical diseases 2021−2030, this report includes quantitative information on the status of the overarching, cross-cutting and disease-specific indicators. This is followed by qualitative information on each of the three road map pillars and on regional and country progress.

The conclusions of the report and way forward are further complemented by annexes on cross-cutting indicator 6, status of donated medicines for treatment of NTDs, articles on NTDs published in the Weekly Epidemiological Record in 2023, target product profiles published as of 31 December 2023, and the list of all global NTD reports published by WHO so far.

This document is the second in a series of global reports describing progress towards the 2030 targets set in Ending the neglect to attain the Sustainable Development Goals: a road map for neglected tropical diseases 2021–2030. It describes a wide range...

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Global report on neglected tropical diseases 2024: executive summary

This document is the executive summary of the Global report on neglected tropical diseases 2024, which is the second in a series of global reports describing progress towards the 2030 targets set in the road map for neglected tropical diseases 2021–2030....

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Key facts about the report

The report at a glance

The Global report on neglected tropical diseases 2024 depicts encouraging advancements in the battle against NTDs. It highlights key challenges, ranging from a slow post-COVID-19 recovery to funding uncertainties, from geopolitical disruptions to climate change, from gaps in knowledge and tools to insufficient data, to illustrate the complexities inherent in addressing NTDs.

For the first time, a quantitative overview is provided of the status of each of the indicators included in the road map: four overarching indicators, 10 cross-cutting indicators and 55 disease-specific indicators.

Qualitative information is included on progress made regarding each of the three road map pillars: (i) accelerate programmatic action, (ii) intensify cross-cutting approaches, and (iii) change operating models and culture to facilitate country ownership.

A section is dedicated to regional and country progress.

Key facts about progress

Encouraging advancements

In 2022, 1.62 billion people required interventions against neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Although this reflects a 26% decrease from 2010, it does not provide the required trajectory to attain the road map’s global target of a 90% reduction by 2030.
In 2023, five countries were acknowledged by WHO for eliminating one NTD, and one country for eliminating two NTDs. As of December 2023, a total of 50 countries have successfully eliminated at least one NTD, marking the halfway point towards the 2030 target of 100 countries.
In 2022, approximately 848 million people received treatment for at least one NTD through preventive chemotherapy interventions, 49 million fewer than in 2021 but 50 million more than in 2020.
As of end 2022, the number of reported deaths from vector-borne NTDs has increased by 22% (as compared with 2016).
Progress made includes a gradual scale-up of the adoption and implementation of integrated skin-NTD strategies (11 countries), of the development of guidance for management of NTD-related disabilities (19 countries), of integration on NTDs in national health plans (28 countries), of inclusion of NTD interventions in packages of essential services (6 countries), of data reporting on all NTDs (32 countries), and of collecting and reporting gender-disaggregated data (17 countries).

Access to water supply, sanitation and hygiene is overall 85.8% in NTD-endemic countries and 63% among the population requiring interventions against NTDs.
The share of the population at risk protected against catastrophic out-of-pocket health expenditure due to NTDs is 87.4%.
In 2023, noma (cancrum oris, gangrenous stomatitis) was added to the list of NTDs.
NTD medicine donation programmes achieved significant milestones in 2023, delivering 2.1 billion tablets and vials, 200 million more than in 2022. Of them, 994 million were managed by WHO and made available to 112 Member States free of charge.
In 2023, the offer of normative guidance, capacity strengthening tools and data collection mechanisms was broadened, with the aim of providing Member States and partners with the necessary support to implement, monitor and evaluate NTD programmes.
Key advocacy events carried out in 2023 included the Global NTD Programme Partners’ Meeting and the Reaching the Last Mile Forum, which raised the visibility of NTDs in the global health agenda and increased resource mobilization.

Guidance, tools and information products

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Numerous NTD technical products and a variety of operational tools of global relevance were published by WHO in 2023, bringing their total to 48.

The OpenWHO platform currently offers online NTD-related training courses on 26 different topics in 12 languages, bringing the total number of products to 62.

WHO guidelines for the treatment of patients with cystic echinococcosis: web annex A: evidence synthesis summary

In this Annex, the main results of the evidence synthesis are presented in summary of findings tables by PICO question.

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WHO guidelines for the treatment of patients with cystic echinococcosis: web annex B: evidence-to-decision framework

As part of developing the guidelines for the treatment of patients with cystic echinococcosis, evidence-to-decision (EtD) frameworks were used to produce...

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WHO guidelines for the treatment of patients with cystic echinococcosis

The purpose of these guidelines is to provide guidance on the choice of treatment so that patients (adults and children) with CE cysts can be offered...

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Neglected tropical diseases

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Global report on neglected tropical diseases 2024

Global report on neglected tropical diseases 2024
Stronger together, towards 2030