As the first country acknowledged by WHO as having won its fight against four NTDs, it eliminated all four diseases in a span of just eleven years
Togo has received an outstanding achievement award as the first ever country globally to eliminate four Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) during the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Committee for Africa meeting held in Lomé. Between 2011 and 2022, Togo has successfully eliminated dracunculiasis (Guinea worm disease), elephantiasis (lymphatic filariasis), human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) and trachoma.
Togo has demonstrated a remarkable record of success. As the first country acknowledged by WHO as having won its fight against four NTDs, it eliminated all four diseases in a span of just eleven years. Togo previously achieved transmission-free status for Guinea worm disease in 2011. In 2017, it became the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to eliminate elephantiasis as a public health problem and, in 2020, became the first African country to achieve the same status with sleeping sickness. To eliminate these diseases, Togo adopted a two-pronged approach that focused on first, interrupting transmission and preventing occurrence of new infections; and secondly, treating or managing diseases, their associated morbidity, and their complications, to alleviate suffering.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General said, “The elimination of dracunculiasis, lymphatic filariasis, human African trypanosomiasis and trachoma is an outstanding achievement, and a gift not only for the people of Togo today, but for generations to come.”
In June earlier this year, the WHO also endorsed and signed the landmark Kigali Declaration on NTDs. The Kigali Declaration is a high-level political declaration which is mobilising political will and securing commitments to achieve the global targets set out in the WHO NTD Road Map 2021-2030 and the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target on NTDs. The Kigali Declaration, launched by H.E. Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda, has already secured the largest ever financial commitment for NTDs to date. The Declaration prioritizes putting country ownership of NTD programmes, integration and cross-sectoral collaboration front and centre, to ensure that these programmes are sustainable in the long term.
Thoko Elphick-Pooley, Executive Director of Uniting to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases said, “Togo’s achievement is an important milestone for Africa and the global health community, demonstrating that ending NTDs is possible. Central to this success has been committed country and political ownership, and I hope that leaders across Africa are inspired by the incredible actions taken by Togo to transform the health of its citizens.”