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Read, Debate: Engage.
| topic: | Health and Sanitation |
|---|---|
| located: | Togo |
| editor: | Bob Koigi |
Togo has become the first country in the world to eliminate four neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), setting the pace for other countries to follow suit as the world commits to eradicate a set of sicknesses that has fanned the flames of poverty and affected the economies of countries world over.
The 20 diseases that are classified as NTDs are known to disable, disfigure and debilitate, but are mostly preventable and treatable. Despite their devastating effects, countries have traditionally not factored them into their health budgets and they have not received the priority they deserve in global funding and interventions. Yet they affect an estimated 1.7 billion people across the world, with Africa carrying 40 percent of the burden.
There have been considerable achievements in tackling the diseases, as 46 countries have eliminated at least one of them and over 600 million people no longer require treatment. A lot, however, remains to be done.
Which is why Togo’s elimination of the four maladies - Guinea worm, lymphatic filariasis, sleeping sickness and trachoma - in a span of eleven years is welcomed news and offers vital lessons to the neighbouring African countries and the world.
The political ownership in the West African country, evident in the way it prioritises health in its development agenda, coupled with the commitment of players in the health sector were the magic bullet in tackling the diseases.
The country invested in a strategy that focused on halting transmission and taming any new infections while treating and managing the diseases to alleviate the suffering of those infected.
As the world leaders focus on eliminating the diseases guided by the Kigali Declaration on NTDs that seeks to mobilise resources and political will between 2021 and 2030, parameters and metrics should be put in place to ensure that implementation is measured and fast-tracked while bringing everyone onboard in prioritising these commitments. Togo has shown us how it is done and that it can be done.
Photo by Seth Doyle
