Progress against neglected tropical diseases requires sustained action

WASHINGTON, USA – The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported major global progress against neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), with 63 countries having eliminated at least one NTD by June 2026, up from 42 at the end of 2020.

WHO’s Global report on neglected tropical diseases 2026, a midterm assessment of the 2021–2030 NTD road map, shows that more countries are eliminating NTDs and fewer people need treatment. Findings reveal that the number of people requiring interventions fell to 1.41 billion in 2024, down 36 percent since 2010 and 19 percent since 2020. Cases of sleeping sickness have dropped by 98 percent since 1999, while Guinea worm disease fell to a record low of just 10 human cases in 2025.

“Elimination of neglected tropical diseases is one of the standout success stories of global health,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general. “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. The goal is not only to eliminate diseases, but to free communities from disability, disfigurement, death and generational poverty.”

Advances in science offer new tools to prevent and treat NTDs, such as WHO-prequalified child-friendly arpraziquantel for schistosomiasis, generic miltefosine for leishmaniasis and a dengue vaccine. Two chikungunya vaccines and new medicines for onchocerciasis and human African trypanosomiasis have also received regulatory approval.

While the report signals major progress against many diseases, it also highlights uneven progress and shows that these diseases continue to disproportionately affect the world’s poorest and most vulnerable communities.

Dengue cases reached a record 15.1 million in 2024, deaths from vector-borne NTDs have risen, and yaws eradication is off track. Only three disease-specific indicators reached their 2025 milestones. Gaps in comprehensive and timely data , including data disaggregated by gender, also make progress difficult to measure.

International development assistance for NTDs remains highly concentrated, with a small number of donors accounting for nearly 80 percent of the total between 2018 and 2024. This concentration has made NTD programmes particularly vulnerable to abrupt reductions in support, which have disrupted mass treatment, case management, surveillance and vector control, and put donated medicines at risk of expiring.

Overall, resources available for NTDs remain 30 percent below pre-COVID-19 levels, and dedicated funding for some programmes has all but disappeared.

At the same time, countries are demonstrating how progress can be made more sustainable. More countries where NTDs are prevalent are mainstreaming NTDs into national health strategies, essential service packages, and domestic budgets. Efforts to improve efficiency by delivering interventions for several NTDs through shared services are also gaining ground: the number of countries adopting the WHO-recommended skin NTD strategy has already exceeded the 2030 target.

The report concludes that faster and sustained action will be needed to meet the 2030 targets, while recognising the progress achieved despite limited resources. It calls on affected countries to increase domestic financing and integrate NTD interventions into universal health coverage and adapt programmes to conflict settings and climate change where needed.

It also calls on donors to broaden their support across NTD interventions, and on recipient countries to diversify their funding sources to reduce dependency and vulnerability. With five years remaining to 2030, accelerated action is needed to protect fragile gains and close persistent gaps.