Brazzaville, 14 March 2013 -- A  Regional Stakeholders’ Consultative Meeting on Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) convened by the World Health Organization (WHO) will take place from 20 to 22 March in Brazzaville, Congo

More than 70 participants are expected to attend the meeting, which will focus on ways of strengthening regional efforts and harmonizing the use of resources to accelerate the elimination and eradication of targeted NTDs in the African Region. Participants will also discuss and review the current status of NTDs, the regional NTD milestones, issues of coordination, and options for leveraging existing and new resources to fund integrated country NTD programmes.

Participants in the three-day meeting will be drawn from endemic countries, donor agencies, pharmaceutical firms, technical experts,  policy makers, senior officials of WHO and  national and international NGOs.

The Brazzaville meeting follows the June 2012 Accra Regional Stakeholders’ Consultative Meeting on NTDs which, among other things, identified and discussed the priorities and commitments of all partners required for the urgent scaling up of activities towards control and elimination of  NTDs which, globally, mainly affect one billion people at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder.

The African Region is believed to carry more than 50% of the global NTD burden, with the proportion continually rising.  The NTD targeted for eradication is Guinea worm disease. Others targeted for control or elimination in the African Region include leprosy,  bilharzia, elephantiasis, sleeping sickness, river blindness, trachoma, Buruli Ulcer, soil transmitted helminth infections such as hookworm, roundworm and whipworm, and Leishmaniasis, also known as "black fever". 

The profile of NTDs is now increasing nationally, regionally and internationally, thanks to renewed and growing interest in tackling them.  

In January 2012, WHO released the Global Roadmap for Implementation toward 2020 NTD goals. In addition, a diverse group of partners including 13 of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies, four national governments, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank and WHO  adopted the “London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases",  a  global initiative aimed at controlling or eradicating at least 10 NTDs between 2012 and 2020.
In June 2012, countries in the African region and other partners articulated the Accra Urgent Call to Action, which urged all stakeholders to accelerate efforts to control and eliminate NTDs and their impact in the region. 

On 28 January 2013, the 132nd Executive Board of WHO, meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, recommended to the 66th World Health Assembly (WHA) a resolution on all 17 NTDs. This move clears the way for the adoption of a far reaching resolution on NTDs by WHA – the decision-making body of WHO which convenes in Geneva in May.

The regional milestones to be discussed at the Brazzaville stakeholders’ meeting will be used as the basis for updating the regional strategic plan for achieving the 2020 NTD goals in the African region. 
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For more information, please contact:

Technical contact                        
Dr. Onyeze Adiele                         
Regional Adviser                        
Neglected Tropical Diseases                
WHO Regional Office for Africa
Brazzaville, Congo 
Tel: +47 241 39 161
Fax: +47 241 39 503 
Email: onyezea [at] afro.who.int (onyezea[at]afro[dot]who[dot]int)

Media Contact:
Samuel T. Ajibola
Tel: +47 241 3978
E-mail: ajibolas [at] afro.who.int (ajibolas[at]afro[dot]who[dot]int)