Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) continue to affect large numbers of people worldwide. The African Region accounts for roughly 35% of people affected by NTDs, reflecting a substantial burden on countries across the continent. In 2023, an estimated 1.495 billion people required interventions for at least one NTD, representing a 32% decrease from the 2010 baseline, indicating steady but uneven progress toward the 2030 targets.
Africa bears the highest burden, accounting for most global DALYs from several major NTDs. All African countries remain endemic for at least one NTD, and 20 of the 21 WHO-recognized NTDs are present in the region. NTDs are categorized into two sub-categories: those primarily controlled through preventive chemotherapy (PC-NTDs) and those addressed through case management (CM-NTDs). Countries continue to report significant achievements, including the development of national plans to sustain NTD services and the integration of data into national systems. Specific diseases also show encouraging trends. For instance, dracunculiasis is nearing eradication, with only 15 human cases reported in 2024 (Chad, South Sudan), despite ongoing challenges. As of October 2025, 24 countries in the region had eliminated at least one NTD.
Progress across the continent is tangible. In 2025, Niger became the first country in Africa verified by WHO to have eliminated the transmission of onchocerciasis. Many programs are transitioning into post-MDA (mass drug administration) or post-validation surveillance for trachoma and lymphatic filariasis. The 2025 WHO Global Report on NTDs notes slowed or stagnant progress in reducing deaths from vector-borne NTDs, expanding access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), protecting populations from catastrophic health expenditures, and improving the completeness and gender-disaggregated reporting. Financing pressures are acute, with official development assistance for NTDs falling by approximately 41% between 2018 and 2023, underscoring the need for domestic resource mobilization and smarter allocation.
The same report highlights that in 2025, the global funding environment tightened further, with international projections indicating a continued decline in overall official development assistance from the previous year. Early WHO updates also indicated that this contraction led to immediate program disruptions worldwide, delaying mass treatment campaigns. Many countries reported shortfalls in operational funding, affecting mass drug administration and survey operations. Within countries, competing health priorities, subnational pockets of transmission (often along borders and in mobile populations), and limited primary health care (PHC) integration continue to hinder elimination efforts. To catalyse progress, the African Union’s Continental Framework on the Control and Elimination of NTDs in Africa by 2030 provides strategic guidance to support Member States in achieving the continent’s elimination goals. This framework promotes a comprehensive approach that emphasizes disease prevention, scaled-up domestic financing, effective mobilization of human resources, strengthened accountability mechanisms, cross-border collaboration, and robust multistakeholder coordination.
Furthermore, the African Union Roadmap to 2030 and Beyond: Sustaining the AIDS Response, Ensuring Systems Strengthening, and Health Security for the Development of Africa offers innovative approaches for integrating health financing, service delivery, and disease prevention into a streamlined approach for the elimination of NTDs and other diseases while advancing health equity by 2030. It prioritizes integrated health services and domestic resource mobilization to strengthen health systems across the continent. The roadmap calls for increased political commitment and strategic partnerships to sustain investments in resilient health systems, accelerate disease elimination, and advance universal health coverage (UHC), especially for NTDs, which remain underfunded.
