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Medical and health sciences
- Diagnostics not elsewhere classified
- Tropical medicine not elsewhere classified
- Public health services not elsewhere classified
Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)
Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a diverse group of parasitic, viral and bacterial diseases, several of which are zoonotic or foodborne in nature. Worldwide, NTDs affect one in seven people, but have a disproportionate impact on the poorest communities in tropical countries.
In 2019, these diseases resulted in about 16 million disability-adjusted life years, putting them in the top 10 of all infectious diseases. After many years of apparent neglect, NTDs are finally receiving due political and scientific attention. Indeed, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) specifically cite NTDs, along with AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, as an issue of global importance. More recently, WHO (January 28, 2021) launched its new NTD road map for 2021 up to 2030.
After which the Kigali Declaration on NTDs was endorsed by more than 80 leading pharmaceutical companies, governments and global health organizations by sustaining or expanding drug donation programs and fostering the development of innovative solutions required to achieve the ambitious goals set.
Challenges in the NTD-space
The current public health interventions in place to combat NTDs face some important challenges, which can only be addressed by both an international and multidisciplinary approach. Combating zoonotic and foodborne NTDs furthermore requires a One Health approach, integrating human health, animal health and the environment.
The overall aim of CENTD aims to tackle these five challenges by fostering partnerships in research, education and service. Given the diversity in NTDs, CENTD will focus on a selection of NTDs only, including echinococcosis, schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminthiasis (including strongyloidiasis) and taeniasis/neurocysticercosis.