More countries eliminate at least one neglected tropical disease
According to the WHO, 63 countries have eliminated at least one neglected tropical disease since 2020, but progress remains fragile.
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Worldwide, 63 countries have now eliminated at least one neglected tropical disease, the World Health Organization reports. That is 21 more than at the end of 2020, but the WHO warns that funding, diagnostics and sustained care remain necessary.
The WHO outlines progress in the international response to neglected tropical diseases in its report. According to the WHO, these comprise a group of 21 diseases and disease groups that mainly affect vulnerable populations and are often associated with poverty, inadequate sanitation, insects and limited access to healthcare.
According to the WHO, by June 2026, 63 countries had eliminated at least one of these diseases. At the end of 2020, the figure was 42. Here, elimination applies per country and per disease, and does not mean global eradication.
The organisation describes the progress as a significant success, but not as a reason to scale back the response. In some countries, transmission remains possible and post-elimination monitoring is needed to detect a return of the disease. Results also vary greatly by region and disease.
The WHO identifies affordable diagnostics, reliable surveillance, access to medicines, and water, sanitation and hygiene as conditions for maintaining these gains. Funding is a particular risk: programmes dependent on temporary support can become vulnerable when campaigns, staff or medicines are no longer available.
The global roadmap for 2021–2030 aims for 100 countries to eliminate at least one neglected tropical disease. It also seeks to reduce the number of people requiring interventions and to further reduce the burden of disease. The new figures show that the world is moving closer to these goals, but not that they are already within reach.
The figures also say nothing about all infections or equal access within countries. National recognition can coexist with groups or areas where healthcare remains difficult to reach. The report’s main lesson is therefore twofold: targeted public-health programmes work, but their results require long-term funding and monitoring.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- The WHO reports that 63 countries had eliminated at least one neglected tropical disease by June 2026, compared with 42 at the end of 2020.
- The WHO identifies sustained funding, diagnostics, surveillance, medicines and sanitation as conditions for further progress.
- The international target for 2030 is 100 countries with at least one eliminated neglected tropical disease.
Left
Arguments The progress shows that public healthcare and international cooperation work; countries should therefore provide structural funding for basic care, medicines and sanitation.
Values Equality, universal access to healthcare and solidarity with vulnerable populations.
Consequences Greater public investment could reduce disease and poverty at the same time, but would require long-term budgets and international cooperation.
Centre
Arguments The figures are encouraging, but policy should be assessed by disease and region and remain tied to measurable monitoring, local responsibility and efficient funding.
Values Effectiveness, feasibility and institutional continuity.
Consequences A targeted approach can preserve results without unlimited resources, provided surveillance and evaluation are not neglected.
Right
Arguments Countries should take ownership of the programmes, and aid should focus on demonstrable results, with less dependence on permanent international funding.
Values National responsibility, efficiency and financial discipline.
Consequences Greater local control could make programmes more sustainable, but withdrawing external support too quickly could undermine fragile health gains.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The main claim and the comparison with 2020 appear in the WHO report and are confirmed by an independent news source. The text makes clear that elimination applies per country and disease and does not mean global eradication.
- confirmed By June 2026, 63 countries had eliminated at least one neglected tropical disease. — WHO Global report 2026. source
- confirmed At the end of 2020, the figure was 42 countries. — The WHO and Anadolu report the same comparison. source
- confirmed The WHO roadmap aims for 100 countries to have eliminated at least one disease by 2030. — Mentioned in the WHO’s description of the roadmap. source
Editor's note
The figures and targets come from the WHO report; Anadolu confirms the core claim and the warning about fragile progress. Elimination here is country- and disease-specific, not global eradication.Sources
- Global report on neglected tropical diseases 2026 — World Health Organization
- Progress against neglected tropical diseases requires sustained action — World Health Organization
- WHO reports 'fragile' progress as 63 countries eliminate at least 1 neglected tropical disease — Anadolu Agency
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