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World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day is observed every year on 30 January

Theme for World NTD Day 2025

Unite.

Join the global NTD community and contribute to achieving our collective goal.

Act.

Foster country commitment, resources, technical guidance, solidarity and coordination.

Eliminate.

End NTDs by delivering treatment, reducing transmission, managing disability and combating stigma.

On World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) is calling on everybody, including leaders and communities, to unite, act and eliminate neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) by making bold, sustainable investments to free the estimated 1.5 billion people, in the world’s most vulnerable communities, from a vicious cycle of disease and poverty.

The purpose of World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day is to raise the profile of NTDs, highlight the suffering they cause and garner support for their control, elimination or eradication, in line with the programmatic targets set out in WHO’s road map 2021−2030 and the commitments of the 2022 Kigali declaration on neglected tropical diseases.

On 31 May 2021, the Seventy-fourth World Health Assembly recognized 30 January as World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day through the unanimous approval of decision WHA74(18) by WHO Member States. This Day is now one of 11 Global Health Days and 2 Global Health Weeks recognized by WHO.

Neglected tropical diseases at a glance

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a diverse group of 21+ conditions that are widespread in the world’s poorest regions, where water safety, sanitation, and access to health care are inadequate or suboptimal.
Caused by a variety of pathogens including viruses, bacteria, protozoa, parasitic worms, fungi and toxins, NTDs affect over 1 billion people globally and are responsible for thousands of preventable deaths every year. As of end 2023, the population requiring interventions for at least one NTD is estimated at 1.5 billion.
These diseases are called “neglected” because they have historically ranked very low on the global health agenda, if they have appeared at all, receiving little attention and funding.
NTDs cost developing communities the equivalent of billions of dollars every year in direct health costs, loss of productivity and reduced socioeconomic and educational attainment.
They are also responsible for other consequences such as chronic morbidity, disability, stigmatization, social exclusion, discrimination and bias, and place considerable financial strains on patients and their families.
NTDs can be prevented, controlled and eliminated. As of December 2024, 54 countries have succeeded in eliminating at least one NTD, more than halfway towards reaching WHO’s goal of 100 countries having eliminated at least one NTD by 2030. Several countries have eliminated 2, 3 or 4 NTDs. Globally, 75 elimination processes have been successfully completed and acknowledged by WHO. In 2024, 7 countries eliminated an NTD.
In 2023 alone, over 860 million people received treatment for NTDs through mass drug administration or individual disease management. However, gaps remain, and while drug treatments are available for many NTDs, often they do not reach those who need them most.
Interventions against NTDs are supported by one of the largest medicine donation programmes globally: currently, 20 different types of medicines are donated by 12 manufacturers to support NTD interventions. Between 2011 and 2024, almost 30 billion tablets and vials have been delivered to countries; 1.8 billion were donated and delivered for treatments carried out in 2024 alone.
NTD programmes were deprioritized in many countries during COVID-19, resulting in massive disruptions to treatment and care. Adaptation and innovation are helping countries to resume these programmes, complemented by integrated and collaborative interventions.
In 2020, WHO published the NTD road map for 2021–2030, setting out a comprehensive blueprint to ensure that NTDs are controlled, eliminated or eradicated by 2030. However, as a result of reduced investment and other challenges, those targets, which align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, risk not being achieved.
Such old and new challenges hampering NTD programmes on a global scale include a changing funding landscape; irregular country ownership; dwindling capacities and expertise; uneven progress across NTDs and countries; difficulties in generating and collecting data; gaps in knowledge, medicines, diagnostics, operational tools and processes, in addition to migrations and conflicts. Climate change has also emerged as a threat, especially with regard to vector-borne diseases.
WHO is addressing the above challenges through a series of initiatives that have already been initiated and will further grow in 2025. These include estimating the cost of interventions required to achieve the 2030 targets, for both planning and resource mobilization purposes; expanding the arsenal of online tools for capacity development; strengthening monitoring & evaluation of NTD interventions, data systems and supply chains of NTD medicines and other health products; identifying the main programmatic gaps through the development of a Research & Development blueprint for NTDs, and advocating for targeted action to fill such gaps; finally, investigating the impact of climate change and adapting disease control intervention accordingly.
On World NTD Day 2025, WHO is calling on everyone, including leaders and communities, to Unite, to Act, and to Eliminate neglected tropical diseases.

Buruli ulcer

A debilitating mycobacterial skin infection causing severe destruction of the skin, bone and soft tissue.

Chagas Disease

A life-threatening protozoan illness transmitted to humans through contact with vector insects (triatomine bugs), ingestion of contaminated food, infected blood transfusions, congenital transmission, organ transplantation or laboratory accidents.

Dengue and chikungunya

Two mosquito-borne, outbreak-prone viral conditions causing a flu-like illness that can be associated with severe, painful and disabling symptoms and, in the case of dengue, may cause shock, haemorrhage and death.

Dracunculiasis (guinea-worm disease)

A helminth infection transmitted exclusively by drinking water contaminated with parasite-infected water fleas; one year later, adult female worms painfully ulcerate through the skin, often of the legs, in order to expel their larvae.

Echinococcosis

A disease caused by the larval stages of tapeworms forming pathogenic cysts in human organs, acquired by ingesting eggs most commonly shed in the faeces of dogs and wild animals.

Foodborne trematodiases

A group of infectious diseases acquired by consuming fish, crustaceans and vegetables contaminated with larval parasites; clonorchiasis, opisthorchiasis, paragonimiasis and fascioliasis are the most common.

Human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness)

A protozoan infection spread by the bites of tsetse flies that is almost 100% fatal without prompt diagnosis and treatment to prevent the parasites from invading the central nervous system.

Leishmaniases

A group of protozoan diseases transmitted through the bites of infected female sandflies; the most severe (visceral) form attacks the internal organs and in its most prevalent (cutaneous) form causes skin ulcers, disfiguring scars and disability.

Leprosy

A complex disease caused by infection with a slow-growing bacterium, mainly affecting the skin, peripheral nerves and eyes.

Lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis)

A helminth infection transmitted by mosquitoes and resulting in adult worms inhabiting and reproducing in the lymphatic system; it is associated with recurrent painful inflammation and abnormal enlargement of limbs and genitals.

Mycetoma, chromoblastomycosis and other deep mycoses

Chronic, progressively destructive inflammatory diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissues which usually affect the lower limbs. People become infected when injuries break the skin and allow fungi (and bacteria in the case of mycetoma) to enter the body.

Noma

Severe gangrenous disease of the mouth and face. Its pathogenesis is linked with non-specific bacteria and a range of modifiable risk factors and underlying social determinants. It mainly affects children aged 2−6 years old and is found most commonly among those living in poor communities.

Onchocerciasis (river blindness)

A helminth infection transmitted by the bite of infected blackflies causing severe itching and eye lesions as the adult worm produces larvae eventually leading to visual impairment and permanent blindness.

Rabies

A preventable viral disease transmitted to humans through the bites of infected animals, especially dogs, that is invariably fatal once symptoms develop.

Scabies and other ectoparasitoses

A group of infestations of the skin caused by mites, fleas or lice; scabies occurs when the human itch mite burrows into the upper layer of the skin where it lives and lays its eggs, causing intense itching and rash.

Schistosomiasis (bilharzia)

A group of trematode infections acquired when larval forms released by freshwater snails penetrate human skin during contact with infested water; schistosomiasis is typically associated with liver and urogenital pathology.

Snakebite envenoming

A potentially life-threatening condition caused by toxins injected through the bite of a venomous snake, often responsible for acute medical emergencies. Envenoming can also be caused by having venom sprayed into the eyes by certain species of snakes

Soil-transmitted helminthiases

Helminth infections transmitted through soil contaminated by human faeces; they cause anaemia, vitamin A deficiency, stunted growth, malnutrition, intestinal obstruction and impaired development.

Taeniasis and cysticercosis

Taeniasis is caused by adult tapeworms in human intestines; cysticercosis results when humans ingest tapeworm eggs that develop as larvae in tissues, including the brain (neurocysticercosis).

Trachoma

A bacterial infection transmitted through direct contact with infectious eye or nasal discharge, and associated with unsafe living conditions and hygiene practices; if left untreated, it causes irreversible corneal opacities and blindness.