As the world marks the annual Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Day on January 30, the Canadian Network for Neglected Tropic Diseases (CNNTD) calls on Canada to stay the course in seeing the end of NTDSs in Canada and around the world.
NTDs are a group of preventable and/or treatable diseases, such as leprosy, dengue fever or trachoma, that affect one in five people alive today. They prevent over 1.6 billion men, women and children from living healthy lives, going to school or work, and achieving their full potential. Affecting the world’s poorest populations that have limited access to clean water, sanitation and health care, NTDs are called neglected diseases because they are underfunded and often ignored. NTDs are, in fact, often diseases of neglected populations.
“Canada can’t turn a blind eye to people living in the planet’s most vulnerable communities who struggle with neglected tropical diseases,” says Dr. Alison Krentel, Associate Professor, School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa and founding member and current chair of the Canadian Steering Group for Neglected Tropical Diseases. “The good news is that even an incremental investment – for example, equivalent to the cost of a house in downtown Toronto or Vancouver – can go a long way in changing many lives affected by NTDs.”
Canadian NTD experts have long worked in more than 60 countries around the world in the forefront of diagnostics, treatment, vaccine development and research.
About World NTD Day
January 30 has been celebrated as an annual neglected tropical diseases (NTD) day since the signing of the London Declaration on NTDs in 2012. In 2021, the World Health Assembly (WHA) recognized January 30 as World Neglected Tropical Disease Day to raise awareness of the devastating impact of NTDs on the poorest populations around the world and support the growing momentum for the control, elimination and eradication of these diseases. World NTD Day is now one of WHO’s 13 Global Health Days.
About the Canadian Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases (CNNTD)
The Canadian Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases (CNNTD) was founded in 2018 by Canadians working in NTDs. Currently, it represents a group of 10 Canadian-based organizations, two international organizations and 260 Canadian and international individual members who share a vision to end the neglect of NTDs and support greater engagement of the Canadian government in global efforts to prevent and treat NTDs. About half of these organizations are directly engaged in implementing NTD projects globally, primarily focusing on leprosy, trachoma, onchocerciasis, lymphatic filariasis, schistosomiasis, and visceral leishmaniasis. For more than five years, CNNTD has been raising the profile of NTDs within the Canadian international development agenda and integrating NTDs in global health, pandemic prevention and response strategies. The network is governed by a Steering Committee representing academic institutions and international organizations.
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