1.7 Billion People at Risk from Neglected Tropical Diseases, Deputy Secretary-General Warns in Observance Message, Calling for Action to End Poverty, Inequality

Following is the text of UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s video message for World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day 2022, observed on 30 January:

Dear colleagues, friends,

COVID-19 is setting back efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.  Extreme poverty is rising for the first time in a generation.  The pandemic has also demonstrated the fragility of progress and has highlighted the glaring inequities that exist in our world.

As we work to tackle this public health emergency, we must address long‑standing and systemic inequalities and inequities.  Neglected tropical diseases embody these imbalances.  They thrive in the poorest, most marginalized communities and prevent people from leading healthy, productive lives.

An estimated 1.7 billion people remain at risk from neglected tropical diseases.  Trapped in a cycle of poverty, illness and suffering, they are unable to reach their potential or to provide for their families and play a full role in the lives of their communities.

As we observe World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day, let us renew our efforts to not only control and eliminate these diseases, but to end the poverty and inequality that contribute so powerfully to their prevalence.  Thank you.