Thirteenth report of the Strategic and Technical Advisory Group for Neglected Tropical Diseases (STAG-NTDs)

The thirteenth meeting of the Strategic and Technical Advisory Group for Neglected Tropical Diseases (STAG-NTD) was held virtually on 15–17 September 2020.

Dr Mwelecele Ntuli Malecela, Director, WHO Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases, opened the meeting and invited Dr Ren Minghui, WHO Assistant Director-General for Universal Health Coverage/Communicable and Noncommunicable Diseases (UHC/UCN), to address the meeting.

Dr Ren said that the COVID-19 pandemic touched nearly every aspect of life and work, and, for many people, had re-awakened their understanding of the importance of infectious diseases. That had brought new calls for the expertise of those involved in infectious diseases, such as those attending the meeting, and WHO appreciated the fact that they had taken the time to attend.

Despite the challenges posed by COVID-19, new successes had been achieved in the response to neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). In 2020, Malawi had eliminated lymphatic filariasis (LF), Myanmar had eliminated trachoma, and Togo had eliminated human African trypanosomiasis (HAT). Those were significant milestones, and credit must be given to all those who contributed. A lot more remained to be done, and WHO looked forward to deliberations during the Seventy-third World Health Assembly in November 2020 on the NTD road map 2021–2030.

NTDs should also be part of the new Global Framework for Multi-disease Elimination, which was being considered in consultation with other WHO technical units and with external partners and would be discussed by STAG. Controlling, eliminating and eradicating NTDs were critical to promoting health, keeping the world safe and serving the vulnerable, and the deliberations of STAG kept WHO on track to achieving those goals.

The Chair, Professor David Mabey, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, confirmed that Dr Margaret Gyapong would continue as Rapporteur.