Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a global success story, with 43 countries having eliminated an NTD. However, the UK government has decided to withdraw £150 million in funding to tackle these diseases funding that would have delivered over 250 million treatments this year alone. In response, 33 former heads of state have called upon the “international community and humanitarian assistance agencies to mobilize the requisite aid resources in an attempt to avoid further loss of life.”
Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) like blinding trachoma and intestinal worms are preventable and treatable, yet they still affect 1.7 billion people around the world. By preventing children from going to school and adults from being able to work, NTDs trap individuals and whole communities in cycles of extreme poverty.
The UK’s decision to withdraw funding effectively abandons over 200 million of Africa’s poorest and most vulnerable people that it promised to support. Out of the 26 countries affected by these aid cuts, 24 are in Africa.