Economic disparities and intensifying burden of neglected tropical diseases.

This thesis examines the interaction between economic disparities and the burden of neglected tropical diseases through a multi-layered study of international agreements, mostly the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS), the health structure in developing countries and the manner in which intellectual property rights relate to the right to health in poor countries. By shedding light to this interaction, it will be demonstrated that small attention and resources is attributed to neglected tropical diseases. The predominance of the interests of affluent economic stakeholders over the reality of a substantial part of population of the world (either infected or at risk) is determined by virtue of limited access to drugs in developing countries, elevated out-of-pocket health expenditures by the poorest of the poor and inefficient/insufficient management of public funds for healthcare. This thesis challenges the current allocation of material and immaterial resources to attenuate the burden of neglected tropical diseases, as part of the right to health, as a way of bringing about more development and well-being to these populations.