Meet our NTD partners

Overview

World Health Organization

Leprosy has been listed as one of the NTDs since they were categorised by the World Health Organization in 2003. The Sustainable Development Goals include a target to end the epidemic of NTDs by 2030, and this is reflected in the development of a new WHO NTDs Roadmap 2021-2030, containing cross-cutting goals for reduction in NTDs as well as sections specific to leprosy and each of the other NTDs. ILEP has close contact with the WHO NTDs Department which is based in Geneva. ILEP and its Member associations are well engaged in initiatives that integrate leprosy with other skin-related NTDs, in line with the WHO Skin NTDs Strategic Framework, and participate in regular global and regional meetings of NTD programme managers.

NTD NGO Network (NNN)

ILEP is a member of the Neglected Tropical Disease NGO Network (NNN). NNN was founded in 2009 as a global forum for non-governmental organisations working to contribute to the global control, elimination, and management of consequences of NTDs. NGOs are uniquely placed, given their field-based programmes and experience, to assist in reaching the world’s most underserved populations like those suffering from NTDs.

NNN has adopted the BEST framework as a means of gathering together the diverse cross-sectoral efforts needed to reach control, elimination and eradication targets for NTDs. It incorporates:

  • Behaviours
  • Environment
  • Social inclusion
  • Treatment

The ILEP CEO chairs the leprosy disease-specific group within NNN. ILEP and its Members are actively engaged in NNN working groups including the Disease Management Disability and Inclusion (DMDI) and the Skin NTDs groups. The DMDI group promotes the importance of patient-centred intensive disease management, disability prevention and stigma reduction across the range of NTDs through a comprehensive “continuum of care” approach. The Skin NTDs group champions inclusive approaches for skin-related NTDs, like leprosy, that require active detection, treatment and control.

Uniting to Combat NTDs

Uniting to Combat NTDs is the consortium that developed from the London Declaration on NTDs. It tracks progress towards the control or elimination of NTDs including leprosy and strives to create political will and an enabling environment for countries to achieve the WHO NTDs Road map goals. ILEP is represented on Uniting’s Consultative Forum. The global commitments in the Kigali declaration on NTDs, adopted in 2022, are the impetus for the next stage of Uniting’s development.

 

InfoNTD

InfoNTD is the one-stop source of information on cross-cutting issues in Neglected Tropical Diseases. It provides scientists, professionals and others working in the field of NTDs with:

  • information on issues such as disease prevention, disease management, skin-NTDs, disability, inclusion, stigma, mental wellbeing, mapping and WASH;
  • document delivery;
  • literature searches;
  • training materials; and
  • a monthly e-newsletter with an overview of recent publications.