Uniting to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases, and a New WHO Roadmap (2021–2030)

The neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are among the leading disabling conditions of humankind. The NTDs result in global disabilities almost equivalent to those from malaria, tuberculosis, or HIV/AIDS. Working with the World Health Organization (WHO), the major partnerships are currently helping to enable access to essential NTD medicines for the poorest people in low-income countries. The hurdles to increasing the level of mass drug administration by the WHO and the major NTD partnerships are formidable. In order to cover many of the contingencies and to tailor the rapid-impact package drugs to situations where some but not all the NTDs are endemic, the WHO has developed and issued a set of detailed guidelines and algorithms for administering the major NTD drugs to polyparasitized populations. The Global Network, the WHO, and the World Bank form a full and comprehensive partnership for the control and elimination of the major NTDs.