CEOs of big pharma, Bill Gates, WHO Director General Margaret Chan, senior government officials from endemic and donor countries, and others announced an unprecedented commitment to control & eliminate 10 NTDs by 2020
The largest coordinated effort to combat Neglected Tropical Diseases was announced at an event ‘Uniting to Combat NTDs’ at the Royal College of Physicians in London on 30 January 2012.
Politicians, health experts and drug companies have agreed a plan to combat 10 neglected tropical diseases over the next decade. “The London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases serves as a new generation Marshall Plan for the bottom billion” wrote Peter Hotez. The publication 'Accelerating Work to Overcome the Global Impact of Neglected Tropical Diseases: A Roadmap for Implementation' which lays out the vision for ending the misery caused by NTDs has inspired public and private partners to unite in the fight against these horrific treatable diseases that maintain people in poverty.
Among those who have signed up are the World Bank, WHO, the UK and US Governments, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 13 pharmaceutical companies. GlaxoSmithKline CEO Andrew Witty, speaking on behalf of the heads of the 13 pharmaceutical manufacturers involved, noted that "many companies and organisations have worked for decades to fight these horrific diseases. But no one company or organisation can do it alone. Today, we pledge to work hand-in-hand to revolutionise the way we fight these diseases now and in the future." WHO's director general, Margaret Chan, set an ambitious timetable during the launch at the Royal College of Physicians in London. "These ancient diseases are now being brought to their knees with stunning speed," she said. "With the boost to this momentum being made today, I am confident almost all of these diseases can be eliminated or controlled by the end of this decade."
The goal of The London Declaration is to eliminate the following diseases by 2020: Guinea worm, leprosy, lymphatic filariasis, blinding trachoma and sleeping sickness; and to reduce and control these diseases: schistosomiasis, river blindness, soil-transmitted helminthes, Chagas disease and visceral leishmaniasis.
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