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Jakarta Call for Action pledges tougher combat against NTDs
Eleven member countries of the World Health Organization's South-East Asia region agreed on Wednesday to further efforts to eradicate, eliminate and control neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) by 2020.
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Marginalized: Alverno Hospital staff member assists a leprosy patient to cast his vote in the recent Singkawang mayoral election in West Kalimantan. (JP/Severianus Endi)
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leven member countries of the World Health Organization's (WHO) South-East Asia Region agreed on Wednesday to further efforts to eradicate, eliminate and control neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) by 2020.
Adopting a “Call for Action” during a ministerial meeting in Jakarta, the member countries pledged to accord the highest priority to accelerating efforts against the diseases, which have affected the most marginalized and neglected populations and pushed them further into poverty and lives marred by deformity and stigma.
WHO South-East Asia regional director Poonam Khetrapal Singh said the UN health body’s regional office made the battle against NTDs a regional health priority and a flagship program in 2014.
“We are seeing significant progress. Last year alone India was declared yaws-free while the Maldives and Sri Lanka eliminated lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem. Our region continues to undertake the largest preventive chemotherapy campaign in the world,” she said.
The Call for Action is focused on promoting innovation and research to improve surveillance, diagnosis and treatment for further reducing NTD burdens.
Member countries pledged to increase monetary and human resources in a sustainable manner and to meet newer challenges as NTDs get increasingly confined to smaller geographical pockets, closer to elimination.
The Jakarta Call for Action also seeks innovative approaches to increase community participation and monitor progress on a real-time basis at the lowest possible administrative level and introduce new tools as soon as they are made available.
The WHO's South-East Asia region is targeting elimination of lymphatic filariasis, kala-azar, schistosomiasis, trachoma and leprosy as public health problems. It is also seeking to end yaws. The 11 member countries comprise Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Timor-Leste. (ebf)
