Global interventions against neglected tropical diseases have cut the number of people needing treatment to 1.41 billion, though WHO warns funding gaps remain.

Published 10 Nov 2026, 07:28 GMT

2 min read

Laboratory staff examine samples under microscopes — Laboratory work on neglected tropical diseases

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The World Health Organisation (WHO) says 63 countries now count at least one neglected tropical disease (NTD) as eliminated, compared with 42 when 2020 ended.

The total was 36 per cent lower than in 2010, and 19 per cent below the 2020 figure. Guinea worm infections fell to a global record low in 2025, with 10 human cases reported.

Ghana was the world's second most endemic country for Guinea worm in the 1990s before achieving certification, and later became the first nation in WHO's African Region to eliminate trachoma.

Globally, sleeping sickness cases have dropped by 98 per cent since 1999, aided by improved surveillance and newly approved medicines alongside child-friendly arpraziquantel for schistosomiasis and generic miltefosine for leishmaniasis.

"Elimination of neglected tropical diseases is one of the standout success stories of global health," WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in the report.

"However, the hard-won gains we have made could easily be lost, so countries and partners must step up, not step back, by increasing domestic financing, sustaining external support and integrating NTD services into primary health care."

Funding for NTD programmes remains 30 per cent short of levels before COVID-19. A small donor group supplied nearly 80 per cent of international aid during 2018–2024.

Araba IncoomAraba Incoom writes on multiple topics with a vast knowledge across different sector. You can almost call me an AI, after all, my initials are Araba Incoom.

WHO: 63 countries have eliminated at least one neglected tropical disease

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