• DNDi-20_Logo_No-Tagline_EN_Full Colour
  • Our work
    • Diseases
      • Sleeping sickness
      • Visceral leishmaniasis
      • Cutaneous leishmaniasis
      • Chagas disease
      • Filaria: river blindness
      • Mycetoma
      • Paediatric HIV
      • Cryptococcal meningitis
      • Hepatitis C
      • Dengue
      • COVID-19
      • Antimicrobial resistance
    • Research & development
      • R&D portfolio & list of projects
      • Drug discovery
      • Translational research
      • Clinical trials
      • Registration & access
      • Treatments delivered
    • Advocacy
      • Open and collaborative R&D
      • Transparency of R&D costs
      • Pro-access policies
  • Networks & partners
    • Partnerships
      • Our partners
      • Partnering with us
    • Global networks
      • Chagas Platform
      • HAT Platform
      • HELP Helminth Elimination Platform
      • LEAP Platform
      • redeLEISH Network
    • DNDi worldwide
      • DNDi Switzerland
      • DNDi DRC
      • DNDi Eastern Africa
      • DNDi Japan
      • DNDi Latin America
      • DNDi North America
      • DNDi South Asia
      • DNDi South-East Asia
      • DNDi Southern Africa
  • News & resources
    • News & stories
      • News
      • Stories
      • Statements
      • Viewpoints
      • Social media
      • eNews Newsletter
    • Press
      • Press releases
      • In the media
    • Resources
      • Scientific articles
      • Our publications
      • Videos
    • Events
  • About us
    • About
      • Who we are
      • How we work
      • Our strategy
      • Our donors
      • Annual reports
    • Our people
      • Our leadership
      • Our governance
      • Contact us
    • Work with us
      • Working at DNDi
      • Job opportunities
      • Requests for proposal
  • Donate
  • DNDi-20_Logo_No-Tagline_EN_Full Colour
  • Our work
    • Diseases
      • Sleeping sickness
      • Visceral leishmaniasis
      • Cutaneous leishmaniasis
      • Chagas disease
      • Filaria: river blindness
      • Mycetoma
      • Paediatric HIV
      • Cryptococcal meningitis
      • Hepatitis C
      • Dengue
      • COVID-19
      • Antimicrobial resistance
    • Research & development
      • R&D portfolio & list of projects
      • Drug discovery
      • Translational research
      • Clinical trials
      • Registration & access
      • Treatments delivered
    • Advocacy
      • Open and collaborative R&D
      • Transparency of R&D costs
      • Pro-access policies
  • Networks & partners
    • Partnerships
      • Our partners
      • Partnering with us
    • Global networks
      • Chagas Platform
      • HAT Platform
      • HELP Helminth Elimination Platform
      • LEAP Platform
      • redeLEISH Network
    • DNDi worldwide
      • DNDi Switzerland
      • DNDi DRC
      • DNDi Eastern Africa
      • DNDi Japan
      • DNDi Latin America
      • DNDi North America
      • DNDi South Asia
      • DNDi South-East Asia
      • DNDi Southern Africa
  • News & resources
    • News & stories
      • News
      • Stories
      • Statements
      • Viewpoints
      • Social media
      • eNews Newsletter
    • Press
      • Press releases
      • In the media
    • Resources
      • Scientific articles
      • Our publications
      • Videos
    • Events
  • About us
    • About
      • Who we are
      • How we work
      • Our strategy
      • Our donors
      • Annual reports
    • Our people
      • Our leadership
      • Our governance
      • Contact us
    • Work with us
      • Working at DNDi
      • Job opportunities
      • Requests for proposal
  • Donate
Home > News

Let’s take the neglect out of neglected tropical diseases: World NTD Day 2022

Home > News

Let’s take the neglect out of neglected tropical diseases: World NTD Day 2022

Health care worker examines sample under microscop in river blindness area
30 Jan 2022
Share on twitter
Share on facebook
Share on linkedin
Share on email
Share on print

This World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day, we joined together with influential supporters around the world to draw attention to neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and advocated for more innovation to develop safe, effective treatments by using the hashtag #BestScienceforAll.

Across the world, 1.7 billion people are affected by NTDs such as mycetoma, sleeping sickness, leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, and river blindness. From Africa to the Americas to Asia, NTDs cause intense suffering, disability and often death, and impoverish individuals, families, and communities.  

DNDi was created in response to the frustration of doctors unable to treat patients living with deadly NTDs. This was because the treatments that existed were ineffective, or so toxic that they themselves killed patients, or simply too expensive or unavailable.

Shining a light on NTDs

In 2021, ‘light-up’ campaigns of landmark monuments helped shine a light on NTDs. This year even more of the world shone: 100 monuments – showcasing the 100% committed campaign – in 40 countries were illuminated in orange and purple. At DNDi we organized the lighting up of landmark monuments in in Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Malaysia, Switzerland and Thailand, and supported partners in other countries. See images in the gallery below.

Fort Jesus, Mombasa, Kenya by Sifa Dena
Niagara Falls, Canada by Lucas Claxton
Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil by Roberto Antunes
Great Wall of China, Beijing, China by WTown
Rome Colosseum, Italy by Alessio Rubicondi
Navamindrabopitr 84th Anniversary Building, Siriraj Hospital, Thailand
Tokyo Tower, Japan by Yoshiaki Miura
Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates by Jonathan Gibbons
Sony Centre, Berlin, Germany by David Ausserhofer
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Saloma Bridge and Kuala Lumpur Tower, Malaysia by Heart Patrick
New Delhi Railway Station, India
Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy by Vanessa Salvati
UNESCO World Heritage Kinderdijk Mills, The Netherlands by Sylvia
The Bell Tower, Perth, Australia
Kenyatta International Convention Centre, Nairobi, Kenya by Lameck Ododo
The Dubai Frame, United Arab Emirates by Jonathan Walley
Kigali Convention Centre, Rwanda by André Rugema
Jet d’eau, Geneva, Switzerland by Manon Voland
Globe Telecom – SM Mall of Asia, Republic of the Philippines by Erwin Barleta

Championing the cause

We are delighted that 25+ influential individuals championed our messages as we called for investment in medical innovation to tackle NTDs. Among them were: actors Sharon Stone, Mia Maestro, and Lazaro Ramos; philosopher Alexandre Jollien; authors Pip Stewart and Daisy Hernandez; and leaders in medicine and science Dr John Nkengasong, YB Khairy Jamaluddin, Dr Mercy Korir, Dr Joanne Liu, Dr Unni Karunakara, Dr Stellah Wairimu Bosiri, and Dr Javid Abdelmoneim.

On World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day, I stand with @DNDi to call for safe and effective treatments for people living with these diseases. We must keep innovating!
Share to spread the word! #BestScienceforAll #WorldNTDDay https://t.co/BRd8eWOv0O pic.twitter.com/s7pBPRuYOY

— John Nkengasong (@JNkengasong) January 30, 2022
View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Alexandre Jollien (@alexandrejollien)

Muito foi feito para combater doenças tropicais negligenciadas na última década, mas a inovação não pode parar! Fiquemos atentos em apoiar o desenvolvimento de tratamentos mais seguros, simples e eficazes para as DTN. @DNDi_Portugues

— Lázaro Ramos (@olazaroramos) January 30, 2022

Je suis Ambassadeur de @DNDi pour la @WorldNTDay, célébrée ce 30 janvier 2022. Je vous exhorte particulièrement à appuyer la recherche menée par @DNDi dans la lutte contre la #THA et l’onchocercose en #RDC #BestScienceforAll . @WHO

— Muyembe Tamfum (@MTamfum) January 30, 2022

In support of World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day, I stand with my friends @DNDi to call for safe and effective treatments for people living with these diseases. Share to spread the word! Sunday is #WorldNTDDay. #BestScienceforAll https://t.co/bO3Dgfyqkj pic.twitter.com/3DsE9eb0rZ

— Sharon Stone (@sharonstone) January 27, 2022

Treatments and diagnostics for neglected tropical diseases and populations are all-too-often unsafe, unsuitable, or non-existent. 30 January is #WorldNTDDay. I am #100percentCommitted and stand with @DNDi in calling for the #BestScienceforAll #beatNTDs pic.twitter.com/NxPUXMlfPS

— Unni Karunakara (@UnniKarunakara) January 27, 2022

There is need to focus is on addressing key diagnostic gaps to achieve the respective neglected disease targets. More innovation & research to improve diagnosis and surveillance for NTDs is key to #beatNTDs #BestScienceforAll @MoniqueWasunna pic.twitter.com/56MmakiUTT

— Dr. Mercy Korir (@DrMercyKorir) January 31, 2022

Sharing stories of innovation

To share the stories of patients, healthcare workers, and researchers we showcased five places where innovation is helping to bring the best science to the most neglected. We started in the Democratic Republic of Congo, hearing from a retired teacher living with river blindness about why scientific progress is needed for the disease, before heading east to see the incredible work of the only data centre for clinical trials of its kind in Africa. Then we headed over to India to see how innovation has helped bring visceral leishmaniasis (also known as kala-azar) to the brink of elimination. And in Latin America we discovered how iChagas, a simple mobile app, is helping health workers diagnose and treat Chagas disease. Finally, we stepped into the world of DeepMind to hear about the transformative potential of artificial intelligence in the fight against NTDs.

Five ways innovation is changing the fight against Neglected Tropical Diseases
For too long the medical needs of people affected by neglected tropical diseases have been ignored. But there are reasons for hope.
Enter
keywords

New global research partnership for dengue

In the lead up to this year’s World NTD Day, we kicked off a new global research partnership. Dengue is a climate sensitive NTD that affects about 390 million people a year. There is no specific treatment for dengue so the partnership, led by disease-endemic countries, aims to find one. To hear more about people’s experiences with the disease, we visited recovered dengue patients in the historic city of Malacca in Malaysia, living in the highest risk areas for dengue, known as ‘red zones’.

Healthcare worker tending patient in hospital setting

Progress on NTDs, but a long way to go

This year’s World NTD Day marked the tenth anniversary of a turning point for NTDs, with the first World Health Organization (WHO) Roadmap on NTDs, and the subsequent ‘London Declaration’ that saw the private and public sector pledge support to tackle NTDs. There are many achievements to be celebrated. Over 30 countries have eliminated at least one NTD as a public health problem. We are close to global elimination for sleeping sickness and in South Asia, to eliminating kala-azar. This hard-won progress is testimony to the value of bold ambitions, strong national responses, and the resolve of frontline health staff.

100% committed to ending NTDs

However, despite these significant achievements there is still much work to do. We still lack safe, effective, and affordable tests and treatments for most NTDs. That’s why this time last year, the WHO launched its new Roadmap for Neglected Tropical Diseases (2021-2030), including consultations with DNDi and other partners. Its goals include the elimination of at least one NTD in 100 countries, and a step-up in innovation to develop and deliver tests and treatments that are affordable and accessible to everyone who needs them.

This year World NTD day kicked off with the 100% committed campaign to get endorsement of the Kigali Declaration – which calls for the political will and resource mobilization to achieve the goals of the new Roadmap. The campaign will seek commitments from governments, donors, pharmaceutical companies, non-profit organizations, civil society, researchers, and others who can make it a reality. It will run through to the Commonwealth Heads of State Meeting, in Kigali, Rwanda later this year.

Sharing our opinions and analysis

The annual G-FINDER report reviews critical trends in medical research and development (R&D) funding on neglected diseases. This year, Dr Kavita Singh, Director of DNDi’s South Asia Regional Office, joined the panel discussion for the launch event. She has also written a statement highlighting how research funding shortfalls are threatening progress for neglected patients.

We are also shared messages through editorial opinion articles, together with key partners:

  • Maladies tropicales négligées : les succès méconnus de la recherche congolaise by Chirac Bulanga, Director of DNDi’s Democratic Republic of Congo Regional Office, published in Jeune Afrique
  • En tiempos de pandemia, ¿quién se acuerda de las enfermedades olvidadas? by Dr Fabiana Alves, DNDi NTD/Leishmaniasis-Mycetoma Cluster Director, and Dr Jorge Alvar, DNDi Senior Leishmaniasis Advisor, published in El País

Finally, we were pleased to see the world’s media pay greater attention to NTDs with some prominent reporting:

  • Infobae: Neglected diseases: the importance of strengthening health systems and equity
  • African Newspage: Millions of Africans could miss out on treatment due to funding shortfall for NTDs
  • Deutsche Welle: Neglected diseases kill 500,000 a year worldwide
  • Frankfurter Rundschau: Tropical diseases: “This is how poverty cycles are created”
  • NTV Kenya: Kenya plans to eliminate at least 6 neglected tropical diseases
  • RTS: Many tropical diseases have been neglected since the beginning of the pandemic
  • Le Temps: The fight against neglected diseases continues, despite the pandemic
  • ATS News Agency: Geneva’s landmark Jet d’eau reminds us of tropical diseases
  • Thai Post: Siriraj joins DNDi to develop a drug to treat dengue fever
Climate change Sustainable Development Partnership Chagas disease Cutaneous leishmaniasis Filaria: river blindness Mycetoma Dengue Sleeping sickness Visceral leishmaniasis

Read, watch, share

Loading...
Woman standing in front of a house
Press releases
2 Feb 2023

Dutch government renews support to DNDi projects on poverty-related diseases that disproportionately impact women

Statements
1 Feb 2023

DNDi interventions at the 152nd session of the WHO Executive Board

Young man sitting in hospital setting
News
25 Jan 2023

It’s time medical innovation reached the 1.7 billion people affected by neglected tropical diseases: World NTD Day 2023

Film Poster Voices of Leishmaniasis: Shushi from India
Videos
25 Jan 2023

Voices of leishmaniasis: Shishu from India

Child receiving treatment
News
20 Jan 2023

DNDi’s 20th year of bringing the best science for the most neglected

Child affected by dengue and her mother at their home in Bangkok, Thailand.
Stories
16 Dec 2022

2022: Six advances in neglected disease research to remember

Statements
2 Dec 2022

DNDi‘s comments on the conceptual zero draft for the consideration of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body at INB3

Healthcare workers discussing in hospital setting
Press releases
1 Dec 2022

DNDi partners in a new NIHR-funded Global Health Research Group on HIV-associated Fungal Infections (IMPRINT)

VIEW ALL

Help neglected patients

To date, we have delivered twelve new treatments, saving millions of lives.

Our goal is to deliver 25 new treatments in our first 25 years. You can help us get there. 

GIVE NOW
Facebook-f
Twitter
Instagram
Linkedin-in
Youtube
International non-profit developing safe, effective, and affordable treatments for the most neglected patients.

Learn more

  • Diseases
  • Neglected tropical diseases
  • R&D portfolio
  • Policy advocacy

Get in touch

  • Our offices
  • Contact us
  • Integrity Line

Support us

  • Donate
  • Subscribe to eNews

Work with us

  • Join research networks
  • Jobs
  • RFPs
  • Terms of Use   
  •   Acceptable Use Policy   
  •   Privacy Policy   
  •   Cookie Policy   
  •   Our policies   

  • Except for images, films and trademarks which are subject to DNDi’s Terms of Use, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Switzerland License   
We use cookies to track our audience and improve our content. By clicking 'Accept All', you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Click on 'Customize' to accept only some cookies.
Customize
ACCEPT ALL
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category .
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
CookieLawInfoConsent1 yearRecords the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie.
PHPSESSIDsessionThis cookie is native to PHP applications. The cookie is used to store and identify a users' unique session ID for the purpose of managing user session on the website. The cookie is a session cookies and is deleted when all the browser windows are closed.
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
CookieDurationDescription
elementorneverThis cookie is used by the website's WordPress theme. It allows the website owner to implement or change the website's content in real-time.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_ga2 yearsThe _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
_ga_16Q5RH3XRG2 yearsThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics.
_gat_UA-10302561-11 minuteA variation of the _gat cookie set by Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager to allow website owners to track visitor behaviour and measure site performance. The pattern element in the name contains the unique identity number of the account or website it relates to.
_gid1 dayInstalled by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
_hjAbsoluteSessionInProgress30 minutesHotjar sets this cookie to detect the first pageview session of a user. This is a True/False flag set by the cookie.
_hjFirstSeen30 minutesHotjar sets this cookie to identify a new user’s first session. It stores a true/false value, indicating whether it was the first time Hotjar saw this user.
_hjIncludedInPageviewSample2 minutesHotjar sets this cookie to know whether a user is included in the data sampling defined by the site's pageview limit.
_hjIncludedInSessionSample2 minutesHotjar sets this cookie to know whether a user is included in the data sampling defined by the site's daily session limit.
_hjSession_112884430 minutesHotjar sets this cookie.
_hjSessionUser_11288441 yearHotjar sets this cookie.
CONSENT2 yearsYouTube sets this cookie via embedded youtube-videos and registers anonymous statistical data.
Targeting
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo