October 25, 2020//-Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) cause an annual loss of 17 million healthy life years globally, with 40% of these lost in sub-Saharan Africa.
NTDs are a heterogeneous group of mostly infectious diseases that largely affect poor individuals living in low- and middle-income countries. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that globally over 1.76 billion people still require interventions against NTDs. Over a quarter of those affected live in sub-Saharan Africa.
Schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis are the most prevalent NTDs in sub-Saharan Africa. The majority (86%) of global schistosomiasis cases occur in sub-Saharan Africa, and 26% of soil-transmitted helminthiasis cases.
The two diseases caused a loss of about 2.1m healthy life years in 2017. The ill health caused by these diseases hampers adults’ ability to work, and could adversely impact children’s schooling.
The most recent WHO roadmap for neglected tropical diseases (2021-2030) sets targets for the elimination of both schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis as public health problems by 2030. Once this is achieved, the countries will need to eliminate transmission to stop these diseases returning.
The EIU has modelled the economic impact of eliminating morbidity and mortality from these diseases by 2030 and preventing their resurgence, compared with a scenario where efforts to combat them stagnate, and cases increase with population growth. We focus on four sub-Saharan African countries—Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda and Zimbabwe.
