WHO and Anesvad Foundation to extend collaboration on skin NTDs in sub-Saharan Africa
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Anesvad Foundation (Bilbao, Spain) have signed a 2-year agreement valued at €1.4 million to support activities on skin-related NTDs (skin NTDs) in a number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa. This agreement builds on the previous agreement from 2019 to 2024 to the tune of close to €1 million.
The skin NTD strategic framework, published in June 2022 as a companion document to the WHO road map for neglected tropical diseases 2021–2030, assists endemic countries implement integrated activities in reducing the morbidity, disability and psychosocial impacts of skin NTDs through a people-centred approach. More than half of the 21 NTDs listed by WHO are skin-related.
The purpose of this new agreement is to build on the progress made during the previous agreement and contribute to the achievement of the road map target, namely at least 40 countries adopt and implement integrated skin NTD strategies by 2030.
The activities focus on three strategic areas:
- WHO’s global coordination role to promote the skin NTDs approach
- Procurement of health commodities to support implementation in selected countries
- Operational research, surveillance, monitoring and evaluation
The activities will be implemented by WHO headquarters, the WHO Regional Office for Africa and WHO country offices in the targeted countries, in close collaboration with the relevant national programmes.