WHO Reports Record NTD Elimination but Warns Progress Remains Fragile

The World Health Organization (WHO) published its Global report on neglected tropical diseases 2026 on 4 November 2026, a midterm assessment of the 2021-2030 NTD road map. The report records that 63 countries had eliminated at least one neglected tropical disease (NTD) by June 2026, up from 42 at the end of 2020, and that the number of people requiring NTD interventions fell to 1.41 billion in 2024 - a 36% decline since 2010 and 19% since 2020.

Disease-specific data point the same way. Cases of human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) have fallen by 98% since 1999, and Guinea worm disease reached a record low of 10 human cases in 2025.

The picture is not uniform. Dengue cases hit a record 15.1 million in 2024, deaths from vector-borne NTDs have risen, yaws eradication is off track, and only three disease-specific indicators met their 2025 milestones. WHO also flags gaps in comprehensive and timely data, including data disaggregated by gender, which make progress harder to measure.

Financing is the central risk. Development assistance for NTDs remains highly concentrated, with a small number of donors accounting for nearly 80% of the total between 2018 and 2024. That concentration has left programmes exposed to abrupt reductions in support, which have already disrupted mass treatment, case management, surveillance and vector control, and have put donated medicines at risk of expiring. Overall resources for NTDs remain 30% below pre-COVID-19 levels, and dedicated funding for some programmes has all but disappeared.

New tools are entering the pipeline. WHO cites its prequalified child-friendly arpraziquantel for schistosomiasis, generic miltefosine for leishmaniasis and a dengue vaccine, alongside two approved chikungunya vaccines and newly approved medicines for onchocerciasis and human African trypanosomiasis.

For procurement teams and programme partners, the practical signals matter more than the headline. Demand for NTD medicines is increasingly shaped by elimination-stage programmes: smaller and more targeted volumes, tighter shelf-life windows, and a premium on formulations suited to paediatric and community-level delivery. Where donor funding is volatile, national programmes are being pushed toward domestic budgets and shared-service delivery models, including the WHO-recommended skin NTD strategy, which more countries have adopted than the 2030 target anticipated. Suppliers able to support smaller batch sizes, long-dated stock and documented quality for products on national essential lists are better placed than those dependent on a single large donor contract.

WHO's asks are explicit: affected countries should increase domestic financing and integrate NTD services into universal health coverage; donors should broaden their support; and recipient countries should diversify funding sources. With five years left to 2030, the report frames the next phase as one of protecting fragile gains rather than celebrating them.

Source: WHO, Progress against neglected tropical diseases requires sustained action, https://www.who.int/news/item/04-11-2026-progress-against-neglected-tropical-diseases-requires-sustained-action