Neglected Tropical Diseases
Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) are a group of infectious diseases that lead to severe health problems, such as anemia, blindness, chronic pain, infertility, and disfigurement.1
They affect millions every year — predominantly in tropical regions such as Africa, Asia, and South and Central America. Many of their victims become trapped in poverty, as they are unable to work and face severe social stigma and challenges in daily life.2
Much can be done to reduce this health burden: many NTDs can be controlled with cheap existing interventions or new technologies developed through research. But today, these diseases still receive insufficient funding, research and development, and global attention.3
The success of some initiatives shows us how much is possible with deliberate effort. These include the near-eradication of Guinea worm disease and the elimination of river blindness, lymphatic filariasis, and trachoma in many countries.
This page compiles global data and research on the world’s current understanding of neglected tropical diseases: their impact, trends over time, interventions, and efforts to control them.
Research & Writing
Guinea worm disease is close to being eradicated – how was this progress achieved?
In the late 1980s, there were near a million new cases of guinea worm disease recorded worldwide. In 2021, there were only 15. How was this achieved?
Trachoma: how a common cause of blindness can be prevented worldwide
The world has seen a large decline in trachoma, but millions are still at risk. How can we make more progress against it?
Interactive Charts on Neglected Tropical Diseases
Annual research & development funding for neglected tropical diseases
Number of people requiring treatment against neglected tropical diseases
Number of people with mild or severe anemia from neglected tropical diseases
Number of people with blindness, broken down by cause
Countries where buruli ulcer is endemic
Countries where cutaneous leishmaniasis is endemic
Countries where guinea worm disease is endemic
Countries where river blindness is endemic
Countries where trachoma is a public health problem
Countries where visceral leishmaniasis is endemic
Countries where yaws is endemic
Death rate from venomous snakes
Deaths from cysticercosis
Deaths from rabies by world region
Deaths from rabies, by age
Deaths from venomous snakes
Dengue fever deaths
Dengue fever infections
Global research & development funding for infectious disease technologies
Number of cases and deaths from rabies
Number of people at risk of trachoma and those receiving treatment
Number of people requiring preventive treatment for lymphatic filariasis
Number of people requiring preventive treatment for river blindness
Number of people requiring preventive treatment for schistosomiasis
Number of people treated for river blindness
Number of people treated for trachoma
Number of people with cysticercosis per 100,000
Number of people with lymphatic filariasis
Number of people with river blindness per 100,000
Number of people with trachoma per 100,000
Reported cases of acute African trypanosomiasis
Reported cases of chronic African trypanosomiasis
Reported cases of guinea worm disease
Reported cases of leprosy
Reported cases of yaws
Reported deaths from rabies
Treatment coverage for lymphatic filariasis
When were countries certified free of guinea worm disease?
Endnotes
Hotez, P. J., Aksoy, S., Brindley, P. J., & Kamhawi, S. (2020). What constitutes a neglected tropical disease? PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 14(1), e0008001. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0008001
Molyneux, D. H., Asamoa-Bah, A., Fenwick, A., Savioli, L., & Hotez, P. (2021). The history of the neglected tropical disease movement. Transactions of The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 115(2), 169–175. https://doi.org/10.1093/trstmh/trab015
Policy Cures Research. (2024). The Impact of Global Health R&D: The high return of investing in R&D for neglected diseases. Available online.
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Our articles and data visualizations rely on work from many different people and organizations. When citing this topic page, please also cite the underlying data sources. This topic page can be cited as:
Saloni Dattani, Fiona Spooner and Max Roser (2024) - “Neglected Tropical Diseases” Published online at OurWorldInData.org. Retrieved from: 'https://ourworldindata.org/neglected-tropical-diseases' [Online Resource]BibTeX citation
@article{owid-neglected-tropical-diseases,
author = {Saloni Dattani and Fiona Spooner and Max Roser},
title = {Neglected Tropical Diseases},
journal = {Our World in Data},
year = {2024},
note = {https://ourworldindata.org/neglected-tropical-diseases}
}
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