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World NTD Day | Collections | MSF Science Portal

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) impact nearly 1.7 billion people each year, causing serious illness or lifelong disability among many—often leading to stigma and exclusion—and killing an estimated 200,000. The vast majority of sufferers live in the world’s poorest countries.


The World Health Organization’s NTD roadmap 2021-2030 aims to address 20 tropical diseases through prevention, control, elimination, and/or eradication. But despite some progress, reaching all its targets will take better, far more accessible diagnostics and treatments along with more robust strategies, political commitment and resources.


To mark World NTD Day, this collection spotlights work by MSF and collaborators on improving approaches to snakebite envenoming, kala azar and noma. One study presents an innovative artificial intelligence-based snakebite diagnostic tool, while others evaluate shorter, less toxic drug regimens or different models of care. Several commentaries advocate for national/regional strategies adapted to contexts ranging from remote villages to active conflict zones. Another crucial factor is the climate crisis, which is intensifying the transmission and geographic spread of many NTDs.

Collection Content

Journal Article
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Research

Neglected etiologies of prolonged febrile illnesses in tropical and subtropical regions: A systematic review

Musumeci S, Kruse A, Chappuis F, Ostergaard Jensen T, Alcoba G
2024-06-21 • PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
2024-06-21 • PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
BACKGROUND
Febrile illnesses that persist despite initial treatment are common clinical challenges in (sub)tropical low-resource settings. Our aim is to review infectious etiologies ...
Conference Material
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Video

Towards an arsenic-free oral treatment for human African trypanosomiasis due to Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense: a new tool for disease elimination

Baudin E
2024-05-16 • MSF Scientific Day International 2024
2024-05-16 • MSF Scientific Day International 2024
Journal Article
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Commentary

Anticipating visceral leishmaniasis epidemics due to the conflict in Northern Ethiopia

Boodman C, van Griensven J, Gupta N, Diro EGJ, Ritmeijer KKD
2023-03-23 • PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
2023-03-23 • PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
Journal Article
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Commentary

Availability, accessibility and use of antivenom for snakebite envenomation in Africa with proposed strategies to overcome the limitations

Dalhat MM, Potet J, Mohammed A, Chotun N, Tesfahunei HA,  et al.
2023-02-26 • Toxicon: X
2023-02-26 • Toxicon: X
Africa remains one of the regions with the highest incident and burden of snakebite. The goal of the World Health Organization to halve the global burden of snakebite by 2030 can only be...
Journal Article
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Commentary

Snakebite envenoming at MSF: A decade of clinical challenges and antivenom access issues

Potet J, Singh SN, Ritmeijer KKD, Sisay K, Alcoba G,  et al.
2022-12-21 • Toxicon: X
2022-12-21 • Toxicon: X
The medical humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) provides medical care in more than 70 countries and admits more than 7000 cases of snakebite in its facilities each y...
Conference Material
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Video

Planetary health and neglected tropical diseases

McIver L
2022-12-01 • MSF Paediatric Days 2022
2022-12-01 • MSF Paediatric Days 2022
Journal Article
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Research

AmBisome monotherapy and combination AmBisome - miltefosine therapy for the treatment of visceral leishmaniasis in patients co-infected with HIV in India: a randomised open label, parallel arm, phase 3 trial

Burza S, Mahajan R, Kazmi S, Alexander N, Kumar D,  et al.
2022-10-15 • Clinical Infectious Diseases
2022-10-15 • Clinical Infectious Diseases
BACKGROUND
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in patients living with Human-Immunodeficiency-Virus (HIV) present an increasingly important patient cohort in areas where both infections are ...
Journal Article
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Research

Paromomycin and miltefosine combination as an alternative to treat patients with visceral leishmaniasis in Eastern Africa: A randomized, controlled, multicountry trial

Musa AM, Mbui J, Mohammed R, Olobo J, Ritmeijer KKD,  et al.
2022-09-27 • Clinical Infectious Diseases
2022-09-27 • Clinical Infectious Diseases
BACKGROUND
This study aimed to determine whether paromomycin plus miltefosine (PM/MF) is noninferior to sodium stibogluconate plus paromomycin (SSG/PM) for treatment of primary visce...
Journal Article
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Review

Towards the elimination of visceral leishmaniasis as a public health problem in East Africa: reflections on an enhanced control strategy and a call for action

Alvar J, den Boer ML, Dagne DA
2021-12-01 • Lancet Global Health
2021-12-01 • Lancet Global Health
East Africa is the world region most affected by visceral leishmaniasis, accounting for 45% of cases globally that were reported to WHO in 2018, with an annual incidence that is only sli...
Journal Article
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Commentary

Model of care, Noma Children’s Hospital, northwest Nigeria

Isah S, Amirtharajah M, Farley ES, Adetunji AS, Samuel J,  et al.
2021-06-03 • Tropical Medicine and International Health
2021-06-03 • Tropical Medicine and International Health
The Nigerian Ministry of Health has been offering care for noma patients for many years at the Noma Children's Hospital (NCH) in Sokoto, northwest Nigeria, and Médecins Sans Frontières h...

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New tools and approaches to drug-resistant TB

New tools and approaches to drug-resistant TB
The World Health Organization estimates that 410,000 people developed a drug-resistant tuberculosis infection (DR-TB) in 2022, only 40% of whom were diagnosed and started on treatment—and only 63% then cured. Given all these points of failure, innovation in preventing, diagnosing and treating DR-TB cannot come fast enough. To mark World TB Day (24 March 2024) the content collection linked below highlights recent work by MSF and collaborators to help change this grim picture. The TB-PRACTECAL and endTB studies delivered robust evidence for shorter, safer, more effective drug regimens that are already saving lives worldwide. Other studies explore new approaches to preventive treatment and simpler, quicker, accurate detection of TB and drug resistance—especially among difficult-to-diagnose populations such as children and people living with HIV. But to impact DR-TB globally these innovations must become widely accessible. This requires changes on many fronts, as described in an accompanying Collection (Expanding Access to Lifesaving New TB Tools).
Our test collection

Our test collection

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World Hepatitis Day 2023

World Hepatitis Day 2023
Viral hepatitis is a major cause of disease and death globally. To mark World Hepatitis Day (July 28th) we present a selection of recent MSF research exploring how to effectively deploy powerful medical tools that could turn the tide on hepatitis C and E—but now reach only a tiny fraction of people who desperately need them, especially in low-resource and emergency settings. For hepatitis C, where groundbreaking new antiviral drugs can cure nearly all patients, MSF is piloting simplified, community-based models of care that offer rapid screening, diagnosis, and treatment under one roof. Some programs focus on the complex needs of highly vulnerable, hard-to-reach populations, such as people co-infected with HIV or TB or who inject drugs. Turning to prevention, an ongoing vaccination campaign against hepatitis E in an outbreak setting is showing early signs of short-term protection. Final results from this South Sudanese refugee camp, where poor sanitation and water quality regularly lead to outbreaks, should help plug a key evidence gap that—along with other barriers discussed in a commentary article—impedes widespread uptake of the vaccine.
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World NTD Day

World NTD Day