The SARS-CoV-2 crisis and its impact on neglected tropical diseases: Threat or opportunity?

Introduction The current global priority is to protect people from attaining the COVID-19 infection and to attend to those infected, resulting in the disruption of other activities of the health sector, such as neglected tropical disease (NTD) control and elimination programs, which, across the globe, have postponed mass drug administration (MDA) campaigns. The impact of this disruption, combined with that of the pandemic, will ripple for years to come. This commentary reflects on how the current crisis modifies the future of the NTD sector focused on the five diseases treated through preventative chemotherapy (often called PC-NTDs): soil-transmitted helminths, schistosomiasis, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, and trachoma.