Ghana Joins Global Push to Eradicate Neglected Tropical Diseases as WHO Reports Progress

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neglected tropical diseases
neglected tropical diseases

Health officials in Ghana’s Ashanti Region are rallying communities to confront Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), a group of debilitating illnesses affecting over 1.6 billion people globally, as the World Health Organization (WHO) signals cautious optimism about eliminating these conditions in 100 countries by 2030.

Speaking at a World NTD Day event in Kumasi, Ashanti Regional Health Director Dr. Fred Adomako Boateng underscored the devastating toll of diseases like leprosy, lymphatic filariasis, and schistosomiasis, which thrive in impoverished tropical communities. “These diseases blind, disable, and disfigure—robbing children of education and adults of their livelihoods,” he said. “They trap families in cycles of poverty and strain entire economies.”

NTDs, often spread by insects, contaminated water, or contact with pathogens, disproportionately impact marginalized populations. Their complex life cycles and ties to environmental factors make them notoriously difficult to control. In Ghana, regions like Ashanti face persistent challenges due to limited healthcare access and gaps in sanitation infrastructure.

Dr. Boateng urged residents to support mass drug administrations, hygiene campaigns, and community education efforts. “Elimination requires everyone’s hands—leaders, families, schools,” he stressed, aligning with this year’s global theme: Unite, Act, Eliminate.

Globally, the WHO reports significant strides, with 54 countries eradicating at least one NTD by late 2024, including seven nations last year alone. The progress, driven by initiatives like the 2022 Kigali Declaration, highlights scaled-up funding and cross-border collaborations. Yet hurdles remain. Nearly 1 billion people still require treatment, and climate change threatens to expand the reach of vectors like mosquitoes and flies.

In Ghana, awareness campaigns aim to shatter the stigma surrounding NTDs while promoting early detection. “Silence is our enemy,” said Kwame Asare, a local teacher who survived lymphatic filariasis. “When we speak openly, we save others from suffering in shame.”

As the WHO pushes toward its 2030 targets, advocates stress that defeating NTDs demands more than medicine—it requires dismantling the poverty and inequity that let these diseases endure. For Ghana, the path forward hinges on unity, urgency, and the unglamorous work of changing minds, one community at a time.

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