Overview

The eighteenth meeting of the Strategic and Technical Advisory Group for Neglected Tropical Diseases (STAG-NTD) was held at the headquarters of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland, on 5–6 December 2024. 

The discussion emphasized the complexity of addressing NTDs and the importance of tailored, strategic efforts to overcome challenges and maintain momentum towards the 2030 road map targets.

On medicine donations, the 250 million fewer medicines distributed in 2024 than in 2023 were attributed to two key factors: (i) a decline in the number of people requiring treatment; and (ii) reduced funding in several countries, particularly for schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiases (STH) programmes. Operational funding challenges were noted, especially in the African Region. This issue reflects broader challenges in planning for NTD programmes. Unlike immunization and malaria programmes, where operational costs are integrated into planning, the NTD sector still faces fragmented financing approaches. Comprehensive and integrated planning, including proper costing of implementation, is critical to address this gap.

On the reduction in the proportion of people requiring interventions, the 31% decline between 2010 and 2023 was attributed to diverse factors. Performance varied across diseases and countries. Some diseases and countries performed well, while others faced challenges, highlighting the need for an MDE approach to advance progress collectively. High-burden countries played a significant role in the overall reduction. Among 15 highburden countries, nine achieved a collective reduction of 100 million people requiring interventions, while five saw slight increases. Focused efforts on these high-burden countries will be crucial to maintaining the trajectory towards global targets. Variation in performance was also noted between diseases. For example, countries such as Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan continue to bear significant burdens related to STH. Some countries have consistently performed well across multiple NTDs, while others are limited to addressing specific diseases.