Gilead Sciences’ Post

The World Health Organization today announced elimination of visceral #leishmaniasis as a #publichealth problem by #Bangladesh, interruption of #leprosy transmission by #Maldives and elimination of #rubella by DPR #Korea Bangladesh has become the 1st country globally to be validated for elimination of visceral leishmaniasis or #kalaazar, a life-threatening neglected tropical disease #NTDs. The country achieved the elimination target of less than 1 case/10,000 population at the sub-district level in 2017 and has sustained it to date despite disruptions caused by the #COVID19 #pandemic Maldives is the 1st country to verify interruption of transmission of leprosy, having achieved the milestone of no #child case detection for more than 5 consecutive years. In 2019 Maldives published a Framework for Zero leprosy with clear milestones to reach leprosy elimination by 2030. An independent assessment team by WHO highlighted high political will and #community motivation, along with strong health systems and minimal evidence of #stigma and #discrimination towards persons affected by leprosy, as the key factors for #Maldives’ success The WHO SEARO Commission for #Measles and Rubella Elimination, based on the evidence provided by the National Verification Committee of DPR Korea, concluded that #endemic rubella #virus has been eliminated from the country. DPR Korea introduced measles-rubella #vaccine in childhood #immunization programme in 2019 after successfully carrying out a wide age range immunization campaign targeting 9 months to 15 years old #children and 16 to 18 years old #women with measles and rubella vaccines. Through this mass immunization activity, achieving more than 99.8% coverage in almost 6 M target population, the country rapidly built substantial population immunity for rubella #Neglected #tropical #diseases like lymphatic filariasis, visceral leishmaniasis and leprosy, along with the threat to children and young people posed by rubella, require continued national leadership, commitment and collaborative action by countries and health partners worldwide said WHO DG Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus Elimination of NTDs and childhood killer and debilitating diseases measles and rubella have been among the flagship priority programmes of the Region focusing on #trachoma, lymphatic #filariasis, visceral leishmaniasis #kalaazar, #yaws and leprosy. The Region has witnessed 95% decline in new cases of kala azar in the last 10 years. The Special Programme for #Research and #Training in Tropical Diseases and WHO, the Government of Bangladesh and partners such as the Government of the United Kingdom, Gilead Sciences, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative - DNDi and the INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR DIARRHOEAL DISEASE RESEARCH BANGLADESH supported research and development of new #diagnostic #tools and effective #treatments, that helped accelerate the #elimination of kala-azar in Bangladesh Dr Ibrahima Socé Fall