While COVID-19 has certainly taken centerstage when it comes to global health news over the last year, the World Health Organization (WHO) is now drawing attention to a different health crisis.

The WHO launched its new roadmap for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) on Thursday at a global virtual event, outlining its plans to tackle these diseases from 2021 to 2030 ahead of World NTD Day on Saturday.

At its core, this roadmap aims to put people first. It involves working across sectors in delivering programs for all the 20 NTDs and promote equity and country ownership,” Dr. Mwelecele Ntuli Malecela, director, WHO Department of Control of NTDs, said. “To do so, programs have to be sustainable with measurable outcomes, backed by adequate domestic financing.”

Jan. 30 marks the second annual World NTD Day and offers an opportunity for international dialogue on the need to end these debilitating diseases.

A key theme of the launch event — and the roadmap itself — is the idea of working together to tackle NTDs globally. Various government representatives, WHO officials, philanthropists, industry advocates and experts, as well as poets and musicians attended the event, which also included WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

“If we are to end the scourge of neglected tropical diseases, we urgently need to do things differently,” Dr. Tedros said. “This means injecting new energy into our efforts and working together in new ways to get prevention and treatment for all these diseases, to everyone who needs it.”

The advocacy tool sets out plans to tackle 20 diseases that affect more than 1 billion people, specifically impacting the poorest people in communities lacking in access to quality health care, as well as clean water and sanitation.

Read the full article about neglected tropical diseases by Jackie Marchildon at Global Citizen.