WHO awarded the West African country an outstanding achievement award this week for eliminating Guinea worm, lymphatic filariasis, sleeping sickness and trachoma in just 11 years. “Togo has achieved a major feat,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa. “This achievement sets an example for the rest of Africa and shows what is possible when health is a priority.” The country eliminated Guinea worm in 2011 and then became the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to eliminate lymphatic filariasis, in 2017, and sleeping sickness, in 2020. This year, it successfully eliminated trachoma. Togo’s president, Faure Gnassingbé, said: “Health is a priority that we have put at the heart of our development policies.” Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a group of 20 preventable and treatable diseases that are often left out of health budgets and global funding priorities. Efforts to control or eliminate the diseases intensified in 2012, when 100 donor countries, private philanthropists, pharmaceutical companies, research institutions and civil society organizations united to support the London Declaration to control or eliminate 10 NTDs by in 2020. As of 2012, 46 countries have eliminated at least one NTD and more than 14 billion treatments have been provided by pharmaceutical companies. Three months ago, world leaders meeting in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, reaffirmed their commitments and agreed to eliminate NTDs by 2030. Around 1.7 billion people worldwide are still affected by NTDs, which can disfigure and disable, trapping individuals and entire communities in cycles of extreme poverty. About 40% of people affected by NTDs live in Africa. The number of people needing treatment for at least one disease on the continent is slowly decreasing. In 2015, 630 million people needed treatment. by 2020 the number had dropped to 598 million. Thoko Elphick-Pooley, director of the global partnership Uniting to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases, said Togo’s success was down to “country commitment and political ownership”. “I hope leaders across Africa are inspired by the incredible actions Togo has taken to transform the health of its citizens,” he added. Last year, the agency warned that cuts to UK state aid could have a devastating impact on progress in tackling NTDs.
