The Malawi Government through the Ministry of Health has launched the Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) master plan.
This is a strategic document that will guide the implementation of initiatives to manage and control NTDs in Malawi.
Speaking after launching the master plan, Deputy Minister of Health Halima Daudi said the NTD Master Plan is promoting integration, ownership and leadership as being important for the Ministry to successfully eliminate the NTDs in the country.
According to Daudi, through the master plan, the Ministry of Health demonstrates real commitment to do more and end the NTDs in the country.
“The NTD Master Plan (2023-2030) has been developed to govern the prevention, control and, where feasible, elimination and eradication of neglected tropical diseases in the country. It aligns with the World Health Organization NTD Roadmap ‘Ending the neglect to attain the Sustainable Development Goals, A road map for neglected tropical diseases 2021-2030,” said Daudi.
Daudi also noted that the Master Plan outlines specific, measurable targets for the eradication, elimination and control of all NTDs endemic in Malawi, as well as cross-cutting targets aligned with WHO’s Thirteenth General Programme of Work 2019-2023, and the SDGs.
“The Master Plan is inclusive of all diseases categorized as NTDs by the WHO. Progress in implementing planned activities as well as the programme performance and outputs will be monitored regularly and evaluated at appropriate intervals by the Malawi Government,” she added.
In her remarks WHO Country Representative, Dr Neema Kimambo said the master plan is an important guiding document that articulates a roadmap to shift from control focus to an elimination paradigm, demonstrating commitment with actions to end the NTDs in Malawi.
“In line with today’s World NTD theme: “Unite, Act, Eliminate”, may I urge all of us gathered here today from any sector or level of health system, to do justice to this document by not just reading it, but most importantly by taking appropriate actions to implement the priority interventions outlined in the document. By taking actions, we would be ending the Neglect and be moving progressively towards achieving the NTD elimination and sustainable development goals,” said Kimambo.
Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) are a diverse group of conditions that are mainly prevalent in tropical areas, where they thrive among people living in impoverished communities.
They are caused by a variety of pathogens including viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi and toxins, and are responsible for devastating health, social and economic consequences.
