Around 400 million people in the region are still affected; 99 million in 26 countries at risk of not receiving treatment
The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for increased investments in Africa to control and eliminate neglected tropical diseases.
While the continent has made significant progress, 400 million people in the region are still affected by neglected diseases, health officials and donors meeting for the the global health body’s Regional Committee for Africa have pointed out.
A group of 20 illnesses, or disease groups, are known as neglected tropical diseases that predominately affect tropical and subtropical regions. An estimated 40 per cent of impacted people globally live in the WHO African Region (which includes 47 Member States).
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The diseases are recognised as a public health problem for poor populations living in tropical environments and difficult-to-access areas. Communities inhabiting rural areas, urban slums and conflict zones are the most severely impacted by neglected tropical diseases.
These include human African trypanosomiasis, also known as sleeping sickness; lymphatic filariasis, also known as elephantiasis; onchocerciasis or river blindness; schistosomiasis or bilharzia and chronic ulcers and other skin infections.
Approximately 99 million people in 26 African countries are at risk this year of not receiving treatment for neglected diseases, according to a 2022 survey by WHO Africa's Expanded Special Project for Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases.
For the families who are affected, neglected tropical diseases have a high financial cost. Households spend at least $33 billion per year due to out-of-pocket health expenditures and wages lost due to these diseases, a WHO study advocating for continued investment in ending neglected tropical diseases found.
A global roadmap by WHO released in 2021 seeks to reduce by 90 per cent the number of people requiring treatment for these diseases throught 2030. It also aims to reduce associated disability by 75 per cent.
The African Regional Framework endorsed the roadmap for the control, eradication and elimination of tropical and vector borne diseases and encouraged governments to provide leadership and commit to the achievement of global and national targets.
There has been considerable progress in Africa in eliminating these illnesses. Leprosy has virtually been eradicated as a public health issue and only the Comoros have not yet succeeded in eliminating the disease on one of their three islands.
Guinea worm-free status has been granted to 42 African countries and trachoma has been deemed to be no longer be a public health issue in six African nations. Last year, Togo became the first African country to eliminate four neglected tropical diseases.
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Prevention and treatment of neglected tropical diseases yield high returns on public health investments, as the WHO earlier found. An estimated net benefit to affected individuals is about $25 for every $1 invested.
Better education, health, and employment outcomes are some of the effects of measures to combat these diseases in communities. Additionally, a lot of neglected tropical disease control strategies rely on straightforward procedures that can be completed by non-specialists, enabling community-based delivery.
These diseases can be devastating, including causing severe pain, disabilities and deformities, malnutrition, stunted growth and cognitive impairment. Anaemia caused by some of these diseases have a direct impact on maternal mortality.
Africa has made great strides against neglected tropical diseases, with millions of people now living free of the pain and suffering caused by these illnesses, said Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa.
“But to secure and build upon these gains, further investments, including adequate, predictable and sustained funding are crucial to speed up the pace towards ending these diseases,” he added.
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