Neglected Tropical Diseases-beyond the tipping point

from the Lancet

A Series starting in The Lancet today is a tipping point to ensure that some of the most prevalent infections of the world's poorest people gain recognition. These diseases and the billion people that they afflict are worthy of a fairer share of global health assistance than previously committed, and of increased attention from the research community in view of their prevalence and burden of disease.

The first in the series can be found in full in The Lancet, Volume 375, Issue 9708, Pages 3 - 4, 2 January 2010

In the same Volume Dr Bernhard Liese in his article Programmes, partnerships, and governance for elimination and control of neglected tropical diseases (The Lancet , Vol. 375 No. 9708 pp 67-76), writes about the integration of national activities targeting NTDs, plus coordination of fragmented governance structures.

The article Integration of control of neglected tropical diseases into health-care systems: challenges and opportunities, by Professor John O Gyapong, Ghana Health Service, Accra, Ghana, and colleagues, examines how programmes with similar delivery strategies and interventions—such as those for onchocerciasis, lymphatic filariasis, and soil-transmitted helminthiasis—could be managed on the same platform and together (The Lancet, Volume 375, Issue 9709, pp 160 - 165, 9 January 2010).

The article Mapping, monitoring, and surveillance of neglected tropical diseases: towards a policy framework, co-authored by Fiona Fleming of SCI, (The Lancet, Volume 375, Issue 9710, Pages 231 - 238) compares present policies for mapping, monitoring, and surveillance for lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminthiasis, and trachoma, drawing attention to both the challenges and opportunities for integration.