Grace Adeleye
The World Health Organisation has called for urgent global action to confront the stigma, discrimination and chronic neglect surrounding neglected tropical diseases, warning that millions of sufferers continue to endure not only physical illness but also deep social and psychological trauma.
Speaking on World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day, the WHO said diseases such as leprosy, lymphatic filariasis and river blindness continue to thrive in the world’s poorest communities, where access to healthcare remains limited and misinformation fuels exclusion and abuse.
The agency disclosed that although progress has been made — with 1.4 billion people now requiring NTD interventions, the lowest figure in history — stigma remains a major barrier to treatment, recovery and reintegration.
According to the WHO, people living with NTDs are more likely to experience depression, anxiety and suicidal tendencies, often worsened by rejection, loss of livelihood and misconceptions about contagion.
To address this, the global health body launched an Essential Care Package guide, which provides evidence-based interventions to promote mental wellbeing, detect and manage mental health conditions and reduce stigma within communities and health systems.
“True elimination means freeing people not only from disease, but from the shame, isolation and despair that too often accompany it,” the WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said.
He noted that the global fight against NTDs had recorded major gains, with 58 countries eliminating at least one of the diseases, but warned that dwindling resources now threaten these achievements.
Data from the organisation showed that global funding for NTDs fell by 41 per cent between 2018 and 2023, despite evidence that every $1 invested in preventive chemotherapy yields about $25 in economic and social returns.
The WHO therefore urged governments, donors and partners to renew commitments, mobilise fresh funding and leadership, accelerate innovation and integrate mental health services into NTD responses.
The organisation also called on the global community to amplify stories of resilience and country-led successes, stressing that eliminating NTDs requires not only medical solutions but also social justice, inclusion and sustained political will.
Globally, about one billion people are currently affected by neglected tropical diseases, while 1.4 billion still require treatment or preventive care, underscoring the urgency of collective action to end diseases that disproportionately burden the world’s poorest populations.
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