Aid cuts could set back fragile gains in eliminating neglected tropical diseases | Aid

Your editorial rightly warns that malaria could be the “canary in the coal mine” for how quickly and seriously decades of progress in global health could unravel due to the abandonment of USAID and the hesitant commitment of countries like the UK (editorial, October 27).

Beyond foreshadowing long-term impacts on HIV and tuberculosis, malaria likely heralds what lies ahead for a less publicized but equally devastating group of pathogens: “neglected tropical diseases” (NTDs).

The World Health Organization defines NTDs as conditions caused by pathogens that disproportionately affect poor tropical communities. These include dengue, leprosy, rabies and several diseases causing blindness, disability and stigma – together affecting more than a billion people. Like malaria, many NTDs rely on mosquitoes for transmission and are expected to increase with climate change.

Thanks to support from the Global Fund, significant progress has been made in reducing malaria since 2000. This funding has saved millions of lives. NTDs have struggled to gain similar, sustained support, relying primarily on pharmaceutical donations, international NGOs, and aid from governments such as the United States, European Union, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

Nevertheless, progress has been made thanks to the dedication of communities, health workers and programs in endemic countries. A recent report from the World Health Organization indicates that the number of people affected by NTDs declined by 900 million between 1990 and 2021. And 54 countries have eliminated at least one NTD, with trachoma elimination accelerating at a considerable pace and dracunculiasis (Guinea worm) moving closer to global eradication.

With modest but sustained increases in funding, many NTDs could be pushed into the dustbin. The impact of funding cuts is harder to quantify than for malaria – many NTDs are so “neglected” that their true burden is underestimated – but the consequences are likely to be severe and long-lasting.

To preserve fragile gains against malaria, neglected tropical diseases and other illnesses, the UK government must maintain its support for international development. Eliminating these scourges is in the interests of the British public.
Professor Heather Ferguson
University of Glasgow