Winnie Mpanju-ShumbushoCredit: Winnie Mpanju-Shumbusho
Growing up in Zimbabwe, Tafadzwa Banda believed she was cursed after a mosquito bite caused her leg to swell. Her painful condition, lymphatic filariasis, eventually led her to drop out of school, bringing lifelong consequences. The devastating effect on Tafadzwa’s life is common among people with neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), a group of preventable and treatable diseases that affect about 1.65 billion people around the world.
By most commonly affecting some of the most vulnerable people in the world – who often live in remote communities – NTDs create cycles of poverty and cost developing nations billions of dollars every year. Almost 400 million Africans have NTDs, and tackling them could be transformative for communities, and government health systems.
Factors for successful elimination
As countries aim to meet international commitments, such as the Sustainable Development Goals and World Health Organization NTD targets, success is building. So far, 21 countries in Africa have eliminated at least one NTD. Benin and Ghana have eliminated three NTDs each, while Togo has eliminated four.
This momentum needs to be sustained as it’s essential that countries continue to lead and take ownership of ending NTDs. This is encapsulated as the first of the three factors necessary for a successful approach. Country ownership is at the core of elimination of the identified NTDs among the 21 countries in Africa.
The second critical factor is sustainable financing. Lack of resources has been a significant barrier to the control, elimination, and eradication of NTDs. This challenge has been intensified by COVID-19 which caused severe delays and disruption to NTD programmes, as well as a massive repurposing and diversion of resources. Sustainable financing is urgently needed to get back on track and ensure that past gains are not lost.
The third factor for success lies in partnerships and collaborative action across the world. This inspiring movement to end NTDs culminated in a pivotal moment with the endorsement of the Kigali Declaration on NTDs by a diverse range of partners including countries affected by NTDs, donors, pharmaceutical companies, civil society and academia, highlighting the importance of prioritising these diseases.
Time to act
To realise the bold vision of an Africa free of NTDs we need more countries and donors to make commitments. The time to act is now. With the effects of climate change, NTDs are starting to spread into areas they were never in before. Investing in eliminating NTDs will strengthen health systems and workforces to be better equipped to detect and respond to existing epidemics and future outbreaks of new diseases.
We must pave the way for a healthier, more equitable future for all Africans, including people like Tafadzwa Banda.
