On 31 May 2021, the World Health Assembly (WHA) recognized 30 January as World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) Day through decision WHA74(18), an awareness day for addressing neglected tropical diseases.

January 30 is the anniversary of the landmark 2012 London Declaration on NTDs, which unified partners across sectors, countries and disease communities to push for greater investment and action on NTDs. 2020 was a special year for the global health response to NTDs, with WHO announcing new goals during the year to guide progress against NTDs until 2030. 30 January 2024 is the fourth annual World NTD Day. The theme serves as a rallying call-for-action and builds on a call to action from President Embaló of Guinea-Bissau in July 2023 in a piece published in Health Policy Watch. World NTD Day wants to end neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). To achieve this, we need sustainable financing for NTDs. Investing in NTDs is a global health and development success story. So far, 50 countries have eliminated an NTD, showing progress is possible. In 2020, 600 million fewer people required interventions against NTDs than in 2010. Yet, for some time, a lack of resources has been seen as a significant barrier to the control, elimination, and eradication of NTDs. This challenge has only been intensified by COVID-19 which has caused severe delays and disruption to NTD programmes, as well as a massive repurposing and diversion of resources.

On World Neglected Tropical Disease Day 2024, WHO is calling on everybody, including leaders and communities, to unite and act to address the inequalities that drive neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and to make bold, sustainable investments to free the estimated 1.62 billion people, in the world’s most vulnerable communities, from a vicious cycle of disease and poverty. The purpose of World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day is to raise the profile of neglected tropical diseases, the suffering they cause and to garner support towards their control, elimination and eradication, in line with the programmatic targets set out in the NTD road map 2021−2030 and the commitments of the 2022 Kigali declaration on neglected tropical diseases. On 31 May 2021, the Seventy-fourth World Health Assembly recognized 30 January as World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day through the unanimous approval of decision WHA74(18)  by WHO Member States. This Day is now one of the 11 Global Health Days and 2 Global Health Weeks recognized by WHO.

Links:
World Neglected Tropical diseases Day

World NTD Day 2024