By Joke Kujenya
DUST SWIRLED across the schoolyard as health workers unpacked boxes of tablets under a mango tree, calling children forward one class at a time.
JKNewsMedia.com reports that some laughed nervously, others swallowed quickly and ran back to their friends. For many in this rural community, the small white pills were the only shield against parasitic infections that silently steal sight, stunt growth and trap families in poverty.
Days like this repeated in thousands of villages across Africa, Asia and Latin America – have defined one of global health’s quietest success stories.
World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day shines a spotlight on illnesses that still affect around one billion people, largely among the poorest populations with limited access to clean water, sanitation and healthcare.
Yet unlike many major diseases, these infections are neither mysterious nor incurable. They are preventable, treatable and, with sustained effort, eliminable.
▪️Progress over the past decade has proved it.
▪️Steady gains, measurable impact
▪️The scale of improvement has been significant.
About 1.4 billion people required interventions against neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in 2024, a 36% reduction compared with 2010.
Dozens of countries that once battled widespread transmission have moved into elimination phases.
By early 2026, 58 countries had eliminated at least one NTD, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), edging closer to the global target of 100 countries by 2030.
Behind those numbers lie millions of restored lives: children returning to school after treatment for intestinal worms, farmers regaining strength after lymphatic filariasis, communities no longer facing blindness from trachoma or river blindness.
Mass drug administration often delivered through schools and local volunteers has become one of public health’s most cost-effective tools.
Experts estimate every US$1 invested in prevention generates roughly US$25 in economic benefits through improved productivity and reduced healthcare costs.
Also, few interventions promise such returns even as abrupt funding withdrawals shake programmes
Health officials now warn that this hard-won momentum is under strain.
Reductions in official development assistance for health, including the withdrawal of long-standing United States of America (USA) support for NTD projects, have disrupted treatment campaigns across multiple endemic countries.
Early reports shared with WHO indicate that 47 planned mass treatment campaigns have already been delayed, leaving about 143 million people without scheduled medicines.
Moreover, missed distributions this year could push elimination timelines back in at least 10 countries.
The organisation said more than 70% of its surveyed country offices reported health service disruptions following recent funding suspensions.
In some places, the breakdowns resemble the service gaps seen during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Critical shortages are also compounding the problem.
One third of responding countries lack essential medicines or health products for major services.
Job losses among frontline health and care workers have been recorded in over half of affected nations, weakening delivery systems that rely heavily on trained local staff.
Without alternative funding or rapid redistribution, more than 55 million NTD tablets risk expiring unused in Africa alone by the end of 2025.
For communities that depend on annual treatment cycles, a missed year can mean infections resurging quickly.
What Is At Stake
The potential reversal is stark when measured against past achievements.
Also, over nearly two decades, programmes backed by the United States Agency for International Development delivered 3.3 billion treatments to more than 1.7 billion people across 26 countries.
That support helped clear infections, interrupt transmission and enabled 14 nations including Ghana, Nepal, Mali and Viet Nam to eliminate at least one NTD.
Pharmaceutical partnerships have also played a decisive role as major companies have donated medicines valued at more than US$12 billion since 2011, making treatment available at minimal cost to families who could not otherwise afford it.
Even amid pandemic disruptions, campaigns continued.
WHO notes that in 2023 alone, more than 860 million people received treatment through mass drug administration or individual case management.
Between January 2023 and May 2025, 17 countries were formally acknowledged by WHO for eliminating one disease.
Frontline workers fear those gains could unravel if drug deliveries and staffing collapse.
“Once you stop,” one regional programme coordinator noted in a recent briefing, “these diseases come back faster than you think.”
Climate Pressures Add New Risks
The challenge extends beyond funding as changing weather patterns are expanding the reach of vectors such as mosquitoes and flies that transmit several tropical infections.
Warmer temperatures and flooding create ideal breeding grounds, pushing diseases into areas that previously saw few cases.
Dengue illustrates the growing threat. WHO classified it as a Grade 3 emergency in 2024 after more than 14 million cases and 10,000 deaths were reported across 107 countries. Health systems already stretched thin are struggling to respond.
Experts say sustained investment in surveillance, diagnostics and integrated primary healthcare will be crucial to prevent similar surges across the NTD landscape.
Countries Seek Local Solutions
Some governments are attempting to cushion the blow.
JKNewsMedia.com also reports that health ministries are integrating NTD campaigns into broader immunisation drives and maternal health outreach, pooling resources to keep treatments moving.
Others are mobilising domestic funding or working with local partners to prevent medicine wastage and maintain staff.
WHO continues to coordinate strategy, set technical standards and track progress through its road map for 2021–2030, which emphasises stronger country ownership, accountability and smarter investment.
Recent resolutions adopted by Member States including renewed efforts to eradicate Guinea worm disease and strengthen responses to skin-related conditions signal political will remains intact.
The gap lies in predictable financing as one of the most achievable victories in global health.
Also, public health leaders often describe NTD elimination as one of the world’s most realistic equity goals.
The science is established as the medicines exist. Delivery systems are proven.
Costs are low compared with many other interventions.
What remains uncertain is commitment.
For families who line up under trees or in village halls each year, the debate over budgets feels distant. What matters is whether the health workers arrive.
If they do, children swallow a tablet and return to class protected.
If they do not, preventable diseases quietly reclaim ground.
WNTDD serves as both celebration and warning proof that progress is possible, and a reminder that neglect, financial or political, can erase it.
Safeguarding these programmes may determine whether the next generation grows up free from infections that should already belong to history, WHO suggests.
