The 74th World Health Assembly on May 27, 2021 endorsed a decision recognizing 30 January as World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day (‘World NTD Day’).
- For countries where neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are prevalent and for the global community of partners, this is a new dawn, says WHO.
- Several Member States were instrumental in generating consensus around World NTD Day. The decision, proposed by the United Arab Emirates, was adopted unanimously.
- World NTD Day commemorates the simultaneous launch of the first NTD road map and the London Declaration on NTDs on 30 January 2012. It was on this day that the world’s biggest public–private sector partnership was founded, and substantial pledges made to end NTDs.
About Neglected Tropical Diseases
- NTDs are a group of conditions that affect more than a billion people who mostly live in marginalized, rural and poor urban areas and conflict zones.
- Although they are preventable and treatable, these diseases – and their intricate interrelationships with poverty and ecological systems – continue to cause devastating health, social and economic consequences.
