WHO, Private Sector, Philanthropists, Other Partners Begin NTD Summit To Discuss Progress On London Declaration

CNN: Winning the war against ancient diseases
“The World Health Organization is on track to meet its goals to control, eliminate, or eradicate sleeping sickness, Chagas, and other ancient illnesses by 2020. At Wednesday’s Global Partners’ Meeting in Geneva, WHO recognized the goals set forth in the Neglected Tropical Diseases Roadmap and the achievements of the past decade…” (Scutti, 4/18).

Deutsche Welle: WHO reports ‘remarkable’ progress after decade of fighting tropical diseases
“A new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) hailed what it calls ‘remarkable achievements in tackling neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)’ over the past decade, according to a press statement released on Tuesday…” (Conradis, 4/19).

Devex: Strides in progress on Neglected Tropical Diseases as global partners meet
“…The number of people at risk for NTDs has fallen by 20 percent in the five years since [2012], according to WHO. In 2015 alone, nearly one billion people received treatment — many donated by pharmaceutical companies — for at least one NTD, a 36 percent increase since 2011…” (Cheney, 4/18).

The Guardian: World Health Organization hails major progress on tackling tropical diseases
“…In the same year, there were fewer reported cases of sleeping sickness than in any other year since records began. Roughly 3,000 cases of sleeping sickness, also called human African trypanosomiasis, were recorded in 2015, an 89 percent reduction since 2000. Last year, there were only 25 cases of Guinea worm disease, a debilitating condition that affected an estimated 3.5 million people in 1986. The cases occurred in three countries: Chad, Ethiopia, and South Sudan…” (McVeigh, 4/19).

Intellectual Property Watch: Neglected Tropical Diseases: Gates Celebrates Industry Contribution, Chan Concurs
“…The Uniting to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) coalition, in collaboration with the World Health Organization, is organizing the NTD Summit 2017, from 19-22 April. The Uniting to Combat NTDs coalition was set up to fulfill the London Declaration’s commitments. [Wednesday], an event hosted by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation celebrated the progress made on the declaration and praised the efforts carried out by endorsers of the London Declaration, and in particular pharmaceutical companies…” (Saez, 4/19).

International Business Times: WHO and Bill Gates seek more help from big pharma companies to fight neglected tropical diseases
“…Governments, drug companies, and charitable organizations that participated in the meeting with Gates committed to expend $812m (£641m) as assistance to fight NTDs. Gates also lauded the U.K. government’s pledge to double its support for the cause. Later, WHO said that GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, and Sanofi are among the major donors of medicines for NTDs…” (Roy, 4/19).

Nature: Global coalition chips away at neglected tropical diseases
“…Gates told Nature that recent successes are the result of global partnerships between governments, companies, and nongovernmental organizations that have formed over the past decade. Multiple groups, including the Gates Foundation, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the DFID, signed a global agreement in 2012 called the London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases to eliminate or reduce the prevalence of ten neglected diseases by 2020…” (Maxmen, 4/18).

Reuters: Fight against neglected tropical diseases needs Big Pharma push: WHO
“…The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is backing research and development into NTDs. Bill Gates met with CEOs of major pharmaceutical companies in Geneva on Tuesday. ‘Good progress, some of these diseases are on track to be done (eliminated) by 2020, some by 2025. Some will take longer than that,’ Gates told a news conference, noting that there were only 3,000 cases of sleeping sickness last year…” (Nebehay, 4/18).

STAT: The world’s assault on tropical diseases is working
“…Neglected diseases have historically been overlooked by the scientific community and pharmaceutical industry, but advocates believe they are beginning to turn that tide. At the same time, they fear that the effort could be undermined by waning support for global health funding in Washington and elsewhere. ‘We’re not big enough to do this without the incredible generosity of the big governments that are far bigger than us,’ Bill Gates, who argued that the programs are money well spent, told STAT in an interview. ‘Under any framework, whether it’s humanitarian or strategic, maintaining these investments makes sense.’ Gates, who met last month with President Trump, said he made a point of telling the president how effective money spent on neglected tropical diseases can be…” (Branswell, 4/18).

VOA News: WHO Reports ‘Record-breaking’ Progress in Fighting Neglected Tropical Diseases
“…The WHO’s fourth report on neglected tropical diseases was launched to coincide with a one-day meeting Wednesday at the agency’s headquarters to take stock of what has been achieved in the fight against NTDs and to explore ways to move the process forward…” (Schlein, 4/18).

The KFF Daily Global Health Policy Report summarized news and information on global health policy from hundreds of sources, from May 2009 through December 2020. All summaries are archived and available via search.

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