AFRICA’S STRUGGLE TO END NTDs CONTINUES AMID COVID-19

Uniting to Combat NTDs – a dedicated collective of governments, donors, pharma companies, NGOs and academia – recently published the 2019 Africa NTD league table.

The new league table shows that several countries in sub-Saharan Africa that rank in the top 10 for GDP per capita, fall at the bottom of the index of neglected tropical diseases (NTD). In comparison, countries with modest or low GDPs, like Chad, Burkina Faso and Burundi, are ranked at the top.

Overall, it shows positive progress on beating NTDs in Africa. Compared to 2015, fewer people now require treatment for at least one NTD. There has also been an increase in the number of people receiving preventive treatments for at least one NTD. Countries are achieving their elimination goals, with Malawi joining Togo as the second country in sub-Saharan Africa to successfully eliminate lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem.

From the 2019 NTD index, the top five countries in the league table are: 1. Burundi (up from 33rd in 2018) 2. Malawi (up from 31st in 2018) 3. Liberia (up from 8th in 2018) 4. Burkina Faso (down from 2nd in 2018) 5. Rwanda (up from 6th in 2018)

QUICKER PROGRESS IS NEEDED

Thoko Pooley, executive director of Uniting to Combat NTDs, says: “Every year the NTD league table gives us a deep perspective on where we are seeing progress towards beating NTDs and where this has slowed. It is striking to see that wealthier nations are amongst the poorest performers when it comes to fighting NTDs. Hopefully this league table will spur countries with the means to take action, to end these diseases of poverty and change the lives of their poorest citizens. There is simply no excuse.”

Despite the positive trend, progress across Africa is not happening quickly enough in order to reach the Sustainable Development Goal of a 90% reduction in the number of people requiring an NTD intervention by 2030.

CHALLENGES HINDER LAST-MILE DELIVERY

The provision of treatment has not been consistent from year to year. The peak seen in 2017 has not been repeated. Far too many NTD programmes rely on donor funding, most of which is programmed on a 12-month cycle, with no guarantee of multi-year funding.

The donation of drugs has been positive and significant, but recently this has been impacted by distribution challenges in a number of countries, resulting in many donated medicines expiring before they even reach the targeted populations.

As the latest NTD league table suggests, it is the wealthier countries in Africa that could help speed up progress by injecting domestic resources in areas where needed.

Investing in NTDs is not just the right thing to do, it is also a smart venture. According to a study by the World Bank Group1, investing in NTD interventions helps countries to avoid out-of-pocket health expenditures and lost productivity, which have the potential to run into costs exceeding hundreds of millions of dollars. The net benefit for each individual affected by NTDs is $25 for every $1 invested by public and philanthropic funders – which is an annualised rate of return of 30%.

Research has shown that interventions to end NTDs are affordable for the governments of most NTD-endemic countries, particularly because investments are often offset by generous drug donations. These interventions cost less than 0.1% of domestic health spending.

Did you know?

In 2018, the global pharmaceutical industry donated 1.7 billion treatments to African countries tohelpfightNTDs.

A TURNING POINT FOR NTDS

Pooley adds: “2021 marks a crucial moment in the fight against NTDs with the recent launch of the World Health Organization’s new NTD Roadmap. Whilst it is likely that the 2020 NTD league table will show disruptions in treatments across Africa due to COVID-19, many NTD programmes have adapted quickly to respond to the pandemic, enabling life-changing and life-saving interventions to continue.”

What the world has achieved in its collective efforts to combat COVID-19 has been encouraging.

“It is crucial that post the pandemic, we extend the same energy and resources to deliver real change to the 1.7 billion people affected by NTDs,” he concludes. •

Uniting to Combat NTDs – www.unitingtocombatntds.org