• Marking World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) warns that millions of people living with NTDs continue to face profound and often unseen suffering due to discrimination, social stigma and untreated mental health conditions. • Under the rallying theme “Unite. • Eliminate.”, WHO and partners urge governments to integrate mental health care into NTD elimination efforts, ensuring that no one is left behind in pain or isolation. • More than 1 billion people worldwide are affected by NTDs and a similar number experience mental health conditions. • People affected by NTDs that lead to physical impairments or disfigurement - such as cutaneous leishmaniasis, leprosy, lymphatic filariasis, mycetoma and noma - are particularly vulnerable to stigma and discrimination. • Misconceptions related to contagion and infection further deepen stigma, discrimination and social exclusion.
Article Summaries:
- On World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) highlighted that millions of people with NTDs still suffer from discrimination, social stigma and untreated mental‑health problems. WHO’s new global guide on the Essential Care Package offers evidence‑based interventions to promote mental health, assess and treat conditions, and reduce stigma at individual, community and health‑system levels. While progress over the past decade has lowered the number of people needing NTD interventions and led 58 countries to eliminate at least one NTD, official development assistance fell 41 % between 2018 and 2023, threatening to reverse gains and costing affected families billions annually.
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