Media release: Global Partners Are Taking the “Neglect” out of “Neglected Tropical Diseases” Private and public sector leaders release progress report and announce new funding
Excerpts
Global partners supporting the London Declaration on NTDs met in Paris to release a progress report of efforts around NTDs over the past two years, and to announce some US$240 million in new funding commitments. The 10 diseases covered by the London Declaration and its 2020 target include river blindness, Guinea worm, lymphatic filariasis, blinding trachoma, schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminths, leprosy, Chagas disease, visceral leishmaniasis and sleeping sickness.
Several partners also announced new funding towards the fight against NTDs. A group of partners is committing more than US$120 million to address intestinal worms common in communities with limited access to clean water and sanitation, including US$50 million from the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF). In addition, the World Bank Group, which has long played an important role in fighting onchocerciasis (river blindness), is committing US$120 million toward the goal of NTD control and elimination in low-income countries in Africa, including funding for school-based deworming efforts.
Pharmaceutical companies are fulfilling their commitments to sustain and expand drug donations through 2020, which resulted in nearly 1.4 billion NTD treatments in 2013. Investments in NTD program implementation and delivery are leveraging these drug donations – valued at an estimated US$19 billion through 2020 – and ensuring they reach all people who need them. Every new dollar invested in NTD program implementation helps deliver up to US$10 in donated drugs.
“We’re taking the ‘neglect’ out of neglected tropical diseases, thanks to the commitment of partners from across the public and private sectors,” said Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “Pharmaceutical companies are providing drugs free of charge, endemic countries are scaling up integrated screen-and-treat programs for multiple diseases and donors are delivering essential funding. If we stay focused, we can reach the London Declaration’s 2020 goals and help provide millions with access to health.”
Pharmaceutical companies are also accelerating research and development efforts for new diagnostic tools and treatments in partnership with non-profit and other research and development organizations, as well as driving new implementation strategies. Recent advances include:
The Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT Fund), a partnership between five Japanese pharmaceutical companies, two Japanese government ministries and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, endorsed the London Declaration and dedicated new resources to fill priority research and development gaps needed to achieve the 2020 goals.
Beyond pharmaceutical companies, other private sector enterprises have joined the fight against NTDs. For example, DHL is working with pharmaceutical companies to deliver drugs directly to national warehouses in endemic countries, streamlining customs processes to ensure timely delivery to populations in need.
View the live webcast of the panel event at Institut Pasteur here.
Media release: http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases/2014/04/Global-Partners-Are-Taking-the-Neglect-out-of-Neglected-Tropical-Diseases

Report: Delivering on Promises & Driving Progress: The Second Report on Uniting to Combat NTDs 2nd Progress Report on The London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases
Uniting to Combat NTDs*
April 2014 46 pages Full report here: http://www.unitingtocombatNTDs.org
Synopsis [Full text]
Two years ago, leaders of many of the world’s most important global health and development organizations stood on a stage in London and pledged to work together to control, eliminate, or eradicate 10 neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). These diseases, many of which have afflicted humanity for millennia, affect more than 1.4 billion people. They sicken, disable, and disfigure, keeping people in cycles of poverty and costing developing economies billions of dollars every year.
Until recently, NTDs saw little attention from all but a small handful of dedicated supporters. But as their impact grew clearer, more were urged into action. In January 2012, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a plan to control, eliminate, or eradicate 17 NTDs by 2020, and the global NTD community—including pharmaceutical companies, donor and endemic countries, private foundations, civil society organizations, and others— responded, with each committing to do its part to reach those goals for 10 of these diseases. This informal group was called Uniting to Combat NTDs.
Since that day, Uniting to Combat NTDs has grown into much more: it is now a global movement, based on partnership and accountability, in which people and organizations from all over the world find unique and powerful ways to contribute to progress. Central to the London Declaration is its pledge to report annually on what its collaborators have done to achieve shared targets.
This report, coordinated by the London Declaration Stakeholders Working Group with input from many others, chronicles progress achieved in 2013. It highlights significant momentum, driven by political will in endemic countries, and the commitments of private donors and industry, but it also notes gaps where action is needed. By examining where we stand, we can identify areas of need, engage in coordinated planning, and move forward with clearly defined objectives.
** Under the banner of Uniting to Combat NTDs, a varied set of partners came together to provide different dimensions of support toward attaining the WHO 2020 goals for 10 NTDs as documented in the London Declaration. The collective work of Uniting to Combat NTDs complements WHO’s direct collaboration with endemic countries. The efforts of Uniting to Combat NTDs are coordinated by a Stakeholders Group (see image) that includes representatives from the following organizations or institutions:
:: United States Agency for International Development
:: The United Kingdom’s Department for International Development
:: World Bank
:: Partnership for Disease Control Initiatives
:: Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases
:: Coalition for Operational Research on NTDs
:: Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative
:: Neglected Tropical Disease Non-Governmental Development Organizations Network
:: GlaxoSmithKline (representing industry)
:: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation