The concept of blue marble health emerged as a novel framework for global health in 2013. Succinctly put, today most or at least one-half of the world’s neglected diseases occur among the poor living in wealthy countries, especially in the group of 20 (G20) nations and Nigeria. Based on data mostly compiled and released by the WHO (and other published sources), approximately one-half of the major helminth infections occur among the G20 countries and Nigeria, as well as most of the dengue, leishmaniasis, leprosy, Chagas disease, and possibly other neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).
Information using DALYs from the GBD 2013 confirms the findings related to blue marble health that were previously derived using WHO and other data. The concurrence provides further impetus for pursuing public policies related to a framework for blue marble health for the G20 countries and Nigeria. Among those policies is greater engagement by G20 government leaders to provide mass drug administration for the major NTDs affecting their vulnerable populations, in addition to preventive measures for HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria. There is also heightened urgency to increase commitments for neglected diseases research and development among the G20 leaders.
}, year = {2016}, journal = {PLoS neglected tropical diseases}, volume = {10}, pages = {e0004744}, issn = {1935-2735}, url = {http://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article/asset?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0004744.PDF}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pntd.0004744}, language = {eng}, }