The group known as neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) includes 20 serious infections that mostly affect over 1.7 billion individuals living in largely poor areas with poor hygiene and a lack of health services. Though NTDs cause a lot of health problems globally, they have traditionally been overlooked and are less funded than many other important diseases. This review explains the global impact of NTDs on disease, death, and society, highlighting how they contribute to the persistence of poverty and inequality. We look at modern data to understand the epidemiology of schistosomiasis, leishmaniasis, lymphatic filariasis, soil-transmitted helminths, onchocerciasis, trachoma, and Chagas disease. We study statistics on disability-adjusted life years, changes in death rates, and the differences in NTDs by region worldwide. The document looks at existing programs aimed at both controlling and eliminating NTDs, with special mention of the WHO’s 2021–2030 NTD Roadmap, mass drug administration campaigns, using vectors for control, water, sanitation, and hygiene initiatives and the main roles of United States Agency for International Development, the Gates Foundation and Uniting to Combat NTDs.
Although there have been many improvements, major difficulties remain, such as new resistance to drugs, gaps in surveillance, geographical dispersion, complicated logistics, and limited availability in war-hit and isolated areas. It is vital during this review to identify key areas where research is badly needed in diagnostics, vaccine development, drug development, implementation science, and digital health usage. In the future, NTDs should be handled in basic health care settings, deeper connections developed between medical, animal, and human health, gender equality promoted, and our communities and professionals empowered. We urge the following call to action: Success in reaching the 2030 goals will depend on global unity, creative local studies, and flexible, fair health systems focused on the needs of those in greatest danger.
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