• DNDi - Best Science for the Most Neglected 20 Years
  • Our work
    • Diseases
      • Sleeping sickness
      • Visceral leishmaniasis
      • Cutaneous leishmaniasis
      • Chagas disease
      • Filaria: river blindness
      • Mycetoma
      • Paediatric HIV
      • Cryptococcal meningitis
      • Hepatitis C
      • Dengue
      • Pandemic Preparedness
      • 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 and IP
      • Children’s health
      • Gender equity
      • Climate change
      • AI and new technologies
  • Networks & partners
    • Partnerships
      • Our partners
      • Partnering with us
    • Global networks
      • Chagas Platform
      • Dengue Alliance
      • 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
      • Podcasts, radio & TV
    • 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 - Best Science for the Most Neglected 20 Years
  • DNDi - Best Science for the Most Neglected 20 Years
  • Our work
    • Diseases
      • Sleeping sickness
      • Visceral leishmaniasis
      • Cutaneous leishmaniasis
      • Chagas disease
      • Filaria: river blindness
      • Mycetoma
      • Paediatric HIV
      • Cryptococcal meningitis
      • Hepatitis C
      • Dengue
      • Pandemic Preparedness
      • 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 and IP
      • Children’s health
      • Gender equity
      • Climate change
      • AI and new technologies
  • Networks & partners
    • Partnerships
      • Our partners
      • Partnering with us
    • Global networks
      • Chagas Platform
      • Dengue Alliance
      • 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
      • Podcasts, radio & TV
    • 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 > Viewpoints

NTD Summit 2017: this is not (yet) the endgame

Home > Viewpoints

NTD Summit 2017: this is not (yet) the endgame

Bernard Pecoul NTD summit
24 May 2017
Share on twitter
Share on facebook
Share on linkedin
Share on email
Share on print

Viewpoint by

Bernard Pécoul, Executive Director, DNDi

The recent NTD Summit in Geneva was held to celebrate progress achieved since the London Declaration of 2012, when governments, pharmaceutical companies and other stakeholders in neglected tropical diseases set themselves the ambitious target of controlling or eliminating 10 NTDs by 2020.

Truly, in many aspects the progress accomplished is considerable. To cite just two achievements: there are now fewer than 3,000 new cases of sleeping sickness, the lowest number in 70 years; and Bangladesh, India and Nepal have achieved a 75% drop in visceral leishmaniasis cases, down to just over 10,000, the lowest number since the elimination target was set. New commitments were also announced at the Summit, including sizeable renewed funding pledges from the UK, Belgium and the Gates Foundation.

As one of the 20 original signatories of the London Declaration, DNDi too has much to celebrate. Our clinical trials investigator, Dr Wilfried Mutombo, spoke at the Summit of his astonishment at how the tools available in the fight against sleeping sickness have been revolutionised in such a short period – from toxic melarsoprol, to NECT, and, as our clinical trials wrap up, potentially from NECT to fexinidazole. The promise of a new all-oral treatment that cuts out the need for hospitalization and complex lumbar punctures gets ever closer, and if fexinidazole is successfully registered, it could lay the foundation for elimination of the disease in the future.

Leaders in discussion at the NTD Summit
© Gates Archive/Mike Kemp

Ambitious targets serve the obvious purpose of galvanising the NTD community around a shared goal, and the London Declaration succeeded in bringing new actors to the table and casting a much-needed spotlight on the neglect of these diseases. But the job is far from done, and we should not be lulled into a sense of security or complacency by too much celebrating of good news.

The innovation needs are critical for many NTDs – treatments and diagnostics remain woefully inadequate for Chagas disease. Mycetoma is a disease so neglected that it doesn’t even make it on the list of ten diseases slated for control and elimination. For visceral leishmaniasis, the role of asymptomatic infections and PKDL is not well understood, and could jeopardise elimination efforts without greater understanding of how they can fuel transmission. Existing treatments have severe limitations: some are toxic, or are difficult to administer, posing a burden for health systems and for patients alike; for others, affordability and access are seriously issue. The mass drug administration programmes for lymphatic filariasis and river blindness, backed by large-scale donations from the pharmaceutical industry, leave complex scientific and medical issues unaddressed, as existing drugs do not kill the adult worms and people co-infected with loa loa cannot be treated.

It is vital the World Health Organization continue to demonstrate technical and political leadership in NTDs. Over one billion people, often the world’s poorest, are infected with a neglected tropical disease. Despite our best efforts, these diseases continue to debilitate, disfigure and kill. As much as we have progressed, the Summit was also a forum to remind us that we are not yet at the end and that beyond large donation programmes, more innovation is needed in the fight against neglected diseases.

By Bernard Pécoul, Executive Director, DNDi

Statement by Bernard Pécoul at the Global Partners’ Meeting on Neglected Tropical Diseases – April 19 2017

[Spanish] [Portuguese]

Policy advocacy

Read, watch, share

Loading...
Centre of Excellence in India
News
14 Sep 2023

DNDi’s Centres of Excellence: Towards the sustainable elimination of visceral leishmaniasis in India

Delali Attip
Press releases
6 Sep 2023

Biotech leader Delali Attiogbe Attipoe joins DNDi as North America Director

Viewpoints
5 Sep 2023

Africa should bolster research into climate-sensitive diseases

Context
Prof. Sam Kariuki, DNDi Eastern Africa Director and Leonard Ithau, Rotary International District 9212 District Governor shaking hands
News
29 Aug 2023

DNDi and Rotary collaborate to prevent and treat diseases affecting neglected communities in Eastern Africa

Mother and child in a hospital
Viewpoints
24 Aug 2023

A drug development model for the diseases the world forgot

Africa Arguments
Statements
21 Aug 2023

DNDi urges G20 to operationalize equity in response to major global health challenges and priorities

Man looking into a microscope
Press releases
31 Jul 2023

Certara and DNDi partnering to fast-track data submissions and accelerate drug approvals for neglected patients

DNDi Prof. Fahal Interview 2023 Cover Image
Videos
25 Jul 2023

Prof. Fahal On The 20 Years of Innovating Together In Helping Mycetoma Patients

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
DNDi - Best Science for the Most Neglected 20 Years
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   
This website uses necessary cookies to function. If you give your consent, we will also use statistical, functional, and marketing cookies. See Cookie Policy.
Customize
REJECT 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