PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
http://www.plosntds.org/
(Accessed 28 November 2015)

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Impact of the Neglected Tropical Diseases on Human Development in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Nations
Peter J. Hotez, Jennifer R. Herricks
Editorial | published 25 Nov 2015 | PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
10.1371/journal.pntd.0003782
Extract
The employment of a new “worm index” of human development, together with additional published health information, confirms the important role neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) play in hindering the advancement of many of the world’s Muslim-majority countries.

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC, previously the Organisation of the Islamic Conference) is the major inter-governmental organization of 57 Muslim-majority countries, with a mission to promote human rights (especially those of children, women, and the elderly), education, trade, and good governance (Fig 1) [1]. Under the OIC charter, the advancement of science and technology through cooperative research is also a key component [1,2]. In 2009, one of us (PJH) reviewed the available data on the major NTDs and found that many of these diseases disproportionately affected OIC countries, particularly the poorest nations of the Sahel and elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia [3]. A previous survey of the 28 largest OIC nations—each with a population of at least 10 million people and comprising more than 90% of the populations of the OIC—found that they accounted for 35%–40% of the world’s soil-transmitted helminth infections and 46% of cases of schistosomiasis, in addition to approximately 20% of the cases of trachoma and leprosy [3]. Given the known impact of these NTDs on both public health and socioeconomic development, it was recommended that scale-up of mass treatment for these diseases should commence in the most affected OIC nations [3]. However, we find that it has been difficult to make progress against poverty and NTDs in the OIC nations…