Seven countries across the world eliminated a neglected tropical disease in 2024, an end-of-year report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) shows.
Neglected tropical diseases are a group of infections common in low-income populations mainly in developing countries caused by a variety of pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, protozoa and parasitic worms according to WHO, Brazil, Chad, India, Jordan, Pakistan, Timor-Leste, and Viet Nam eliminated a neglected tropical disease in 2024, including human African trypanosomiasis, leprosy, lymphatic filariasis, and trachoma.
While many countries in Africa are still battling malaria with Uganda being the third in terms of malaria infections across the world, the report also reveals Egypt and Carbo Verde joined the ranks of malaria-free countries. In addition, maternal and neonatal tetanus were eliminated in Guinea in 2024.
When it comes to sexually transmitted diseases and infections, WHO reports that mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis has been eliminated in Belize, Jamaica and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
In Africa, Namibia reached a key milestone towards the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and hepatitis B. It became the first high-burden country in the world to reach a significant milestone on the path towards eliminating vertical mother-to-child transmission of both HIV and viral hepatitis B.
Eastern and Southern Africa is home to more than half the world’s HIV burden and Africa accounts for two-thirds of new hepatitis B infections globally. Namibia is home to more than 200 000 people living with HIV and new infections disproportionately impact females.
Globally, 2.5 million children have avoided vertical transmission of HIV since 2010, 28,000 of whom are in Namibia. WHO reports that HIV testing among pregnant women is almost universally available in the country and access to treatment has led to a 70 per cent reduction in vertical transmission in the last 20 years. For instance, in 2022, only 4 percent of babies born to mothers living with HIV acquired the virus. Almost 80 percent of infants received a timely birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine, one of the key metrics of success on the path to elimination.
The global health body says many countries can achieve the milestones reached by the countries listed if they commit stable domestic funding to national health programmes.
