461 Neglected tropical diseases: impact of COVID-19 and WHO’s response

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a diverse group of conditions of bacterial, viral, parasitic, fungal and noncommunicable origin. In spite of their diversity, NTDs share a common geographical and social context: their burden is predominantly located in tropical areas across the globe, and they mainly affect resourcepoor communities – their correlation with poverty is so close that they are sometimes referred to as diseases of neglected populations. The epidemiology of NTDs is complex and often related to environmental conditions. Many NTDs are vector-borne, have animal reservoirs and are associated with complex life cycles: all these factors make their public-health control challenging.