Responding to calls from the NTD Affected Voices

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a group of 21 mostly communicable diseases affecting over 1.7 billion people. These diseases debilitate, disfigure and can be fatal. They create and lock people into vicious cycles of poverty and cost developing nations billions of dollars annually. As indicated in the 2024 World Health Organization (WHO) NTD report, the current global and national efforts on NTD control are neglecting health service delivery to people living with NTD-related disease, disability and disfigurement. In our GCFR Network grant we brought together NTD researchers, social scientists, the NGO sector, policy makers, primary health practitioners, community health workers, and people with lived experiences (affected voices) across the age range and gender spectrum from Tanzania, Sudan and Zimbabwe, to develop a roadmap for collective action in addressing the health inequalities and health service deficiencies faced by the affected voices. This follow-on project aims to deliver the following directives from this consultative process: 1. Mainstream and evaluate quantification of chronic NTD burden in health and elimination metrics. 2. Developing an algorithm for the detection of invisible chronic morbidities for their early detection and timely management. 3. Progress the development of NTD preventative and diagnostic tools 4. Strengthening capacity of primary healthcare to manage NTD chronic morbidities while promoting/capacitating the affected on self care and management of morbidities in normal and insecurity/ internal displacement communities. 5. Establishing national platforms for amplifying the voices of the NTD affected for accelerated access to curative/rehabilitative interventions and to address NTD-related stigma/discrimination