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Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) are a group of parasitic and bacterial diseases that cause substantial illness for more than one billion people globally. The Ministry of Health of Ethiopia has prioritized eight NTDs as diseases of public health significance. These include trachoma, soil-transmitted helminthes (STH), schistosomiasis; Lymphatic filariasis (LF), Onchocerciasis (Oncho), Dracunculiasis /Guineaworm is easing (GWD), Leishmaniasis, and Podoconiosis. Scabies has recently been added following recognition of it as NTD by WHO
Role and Responsibility
- Providing leadership in the NTD prevention, control, and elimination and eradication efforts and engaging in partnerships with development partners and other stakeholders.
- Strengthening regional government ownership, advocacy, coordination and partnerships;
- Scaling up access to NTD interventions and health system strengthening;
- Enhancing planning for results, resource mobilization and financial sustainability of national NTDs programs;
- Program advocacy, particularly mobilizing resources at national, regional and international levels in order to increase investment in NTDs
- Programs Enhancing NTD program monitoring and evaluation progress towards the achievement of national targets. Promote and strengthening surveillance and operational research.
Goal
To reduce the burden of NTDs using innovative, high-quality and cost-effective approaches that lead to the achievement of the set national programme targets
Program Milestone and Initiatives
1. Eliminating blinding trachoma by 2025
- Reduce prevalence of active trachoma among children from 5 and 9 years below 5%
- Reduce prevalence of trachomatous trichiasis (TT) to <1% among people age 15 years and older (or <0.1% among the general population)
2. Eliminate Schistosomiasis to a level where it is no longer a public health problem by 2025.
- Reduce prevalence of schistosomiasis to <2 by Kato-Katz diagnostic method or Maintain <1% prevalence of heavy infections (KK) in all implementation units
3. Eliminate soil-transmitted helminths to a level where it is no longer a public health problem by 2025
- Reduce prevalence of schistosomiasis to <2 by Kato-Katz diagnostic method or Maintain <1% prevalence of heavy infections (KK) in all implementation units
4. Eliminate lymphatic filariasis by 2025
- Reduce lymphatic filariasis microfilaraemia<1 or antigenemia less than 2% in children aged 6 to 7 years
5. Eliminate Onchocerciasis by 2025
- Reduce prevalence of Onchocerciasis infection among exposed children( < 10 years ) to 0.1% Eradicate
6. Guinea worm (Dracunculiasis)
- Interrupt human and animal Guinea worm disease transmission and bringing to zero by 2024
7. Prevent and control Visceral Leishmaniasis disease
- Reduce case fatality rate due to VL to below 3%
Strategic interventions
- Preventive chemotherapy / Mass drug administration
- Intensified disease-management
- Vector control
- Safe drinking water provision, Basic Sanitation, and Hygiene services, and Education
- Zoonotic disease control