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NTDs impact more than 1.7 billon people around the world
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — On World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Day, RTI International is proud to join the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners in celebrating global progress to eliminate NTDs. A group of parasitic and bacterial diseases, NTDs impact more than 1.7 billion people around the world, causing severe disability, stigma, and pain. Monday, January 30 marks the fourth-annual observance of World NTD Day.
Strong government leadership and the support of the global NTD community have accelerated efforts to eliminate these diseases. Already, 47 countries have eliminated at least one NTD, demonstrating that the WHO NTD Roadmap 2030 goals are within reach.
For more than 15 years, RTI has been proud to be part of this work. Together with governments, we’ve supported 2.2 billion treatments to more than 222 million people around the world. These efforts are having an impact, with 262 million people no longer at risk for lymphatic filariasis, a disfiguring disease commonly known as elephantiasis and 102 million no longer at risk for trachoma, a bacterial infection that can lead to blindness.
Through the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Act to End NTDs | East program, we are working to ensure NTD efforts are equitable, inclusive, and sustainable.
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A future without the threat of LF in Bangladesh is closer than ever before. As LF-related disability becomes a rarity for new generations in Bangladesh, the country is making sure its health system leaves no one behind.
Uganda Sees River Blindness Fading Away
In Uganda, health volunteers like Joyce go door to door fighting river blindness, a neglected tropical disease. With support from the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Act to End NTDs | East program, Uganda is seeing incredible progress to eliminate the disease.