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

Overview

A 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 12–13 April 2011.

The Chairman, Professor David Crompton, opened the meeting by welcoming the new members of the STAG. WHO’s Assistant Director-General for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases, Dr Hiro Nakatani, spoke on behalf of the Director-General, Dr Margaret Chan, and welcomed the participants. Thanking Professor Sir Roy Anderson for having chaired the STAG for the past four years, Dr Nakatani introduced Professor Crompton as its new Chairman, and emphasized the importance of building on WHO’s first global report on neglected tropical diseases, which was launched in 2010. The Chairman, in his message, expressed his desire to focus on the draft roadmap for implementing the report, particularly on setting targets for important milestones.