Approaches for Controlling Neglected Tropical Diseases: A Case Study Grounded in Public Health Policy

Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) comprise a group of twenty pathogens which primarily affect the global poor. Despite their significant public health impact and relative ease of prevention, NTDs frequently receive limited attention and funding compared to other diseases. In this paper, I first identify the relevant context and issues that NTDs cause in affected individuals and communities, including issues in existing non-policy approaches to treat NTDs. I explain how NTDs often cause stigmatization from communities that often prevent patients from seeking medical care. Then, I describe current health policy regarding NTDs and argue that they are insufficient primarily due to inadequacies in political systems, funding, infrastructure, and healthcare delivery. Lastly, I propose health policy in the form of health education, the use of community drug distributors (CDDs) in healthcare delivery, drawing on our experience with past pandemics to design health policy, and the establishment of incentives to involve pharmaceutical firms in the research and production of medicine to cure NTDs.