The Burden of Neglected Tropical Diseases: A Global Review of Control Programs and Research Gaps

Riaz Ahmed
Department of Medical Sciences, Military College of Signals NUST, Islamabad, Pakistan
Correspondence to: Riaz Ahmed, riazkhattak450@gmail.com

DOI: https://doi.org/10.70389/PJPH.100022

Additional information

• Ethical approval: N/a
• Consent: N/a
• Funding: No industry funding
• Conflicts of interest: None
• Author contribution: Riaz Ahmed – Conceptualization, Writing – original draft, review and editing
• Guarantor: Riaz Ahmed
• Provenance and peer-review:
  Unsolicited and externally peer-reviewed
• Data availability statement: N/a

Keywords: Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), Poor hygiene, Health problems, Diseases, Leishmaniasis, Lymphatic filariasis.

Peer Review
Received: 30 May 2025
Last revised: 12 July 2025
Accepted: 12 July 2025
Version accepted: 5
Published: 23 August 2025

Plain Language Summary Infographic

Introduction

Definition and Classification of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs)

NTDs refer to a variety of diseases that are transmitted from person to person and commonly occur in tropical and subtropical countries, where the poor do not have proper health services, water, or sanitation.¹ Almost all these diseases involve close contact with vectors and domestic animals. WHO currently lists 20 NTDs, including several infections from helminths (e.g., soil-transmitted helminths [STHs], schistosomiasis), protozoa (e.g., leishmaniasis, Chagas disease), bacteria (e.g., trachoma, leprosy), and viruses (e.g., dengue, chikungunya, and rabies).²

Global Prevalence and At-Risk Populations

One in five people worldwide is affected by at least one NTD. Such diseases affect many people in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Latin America because of poverty, poor sanitation, and limited access to health care. Because NTDs continue to cause illness and poverty, children, women, and communities living in both rural and urban neighborhoods may not be able to escape the cycle.³

Importance of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

NTDs create a large challenge for realizing UHC and the Sustainable Development Goals, mainly SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being) and SDG 1 (No Poverty). They result in permanent disability or death for many, as well as social shame and a downturn in how much people earn.¹ Because of this, dealing with NTDs is necessary for promoting both health and social growth in regions affected by them.

Purpose and Scope of the Review

Its purpose is to gather and organize existing evidence and approaches on NTDs for use by those creating new policies and research in the future. It specifically aims to do several things:

1. To assess the global burden of NTDs in terms of morbidity, mortality, and socioeconomic impact
2. To review current global and regional control and elimination programs for key NTDs
3. To evaluate the progress, challenges, and equity issues in mass drug administration (MDA) and surveillance strategies
4. To identify critical research gaps, including diagnostics, vaccine development, drug resistance, and implementation science
5. To propose recommendations for integrated, sustainable, and community-centered approaches to NTD control

The paper examines progress and ongoing difficulties in NTD management by proposing new, inclusive solutions that are designed and driven by communities locally.

Methodology

This review was based on a structured narrative review to synthesize international evidence concerning NTDs, their burden, control programs, and the evidence gaps. The search in the literature was performed in four main scientific databases: PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar (Table 1). The search included peer-reviewed publications, the WHO, and the publications of major donors/partners between January 2007 and May 2025.

Table 1: Summary of selected studies and reports used in the review.
Study/Source	Year	NTD Focus	Country/Region	Study Type	Key Intervention or Finding
WHO Global Report on NTDs	2023	Multiple (Global)	Global	Technical report	Outlines 2021–2030 roadmap and progress on DALY reduction
McPherson et al., EClinicalMedicine	2023	LF, STH, onchocerciasis	Ethiopia	Cluster RCT	Evaluated safety of integrated MDA (triple-drug approach)
Brieger & Orji, Oxford Encyclopedia	2024	Onchocerciasis	Africa (multicountry)	Review/Program Report	Community-directed treatment approach effectiveness
Phillips et al., Parasites & Vectors	2022	STH, schistosomiasis	Ethiopia	Cross-sectional study	Association between WASH access and NTD prevalence
WHO (WASH and NTDs)	2021	Trachoma, STH	Global	Policy/ Guideline	Demonstrated integration of WASH in trachoma control
Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) (Leishmaniasis pipeline update)	2024	Leishmaniasis	Global (research and development [R&D] focused)	Pipeline/Program Document	Discussed current progress and funding gaps in vaccine R&D
Yang et al., BMJ	2025	Schistosomiasis, STH	China	Burden Analysis	Compared real-world vs. GBD burden data
Uzoechina, SSRN	2025	Multiple vector-borne NTDs	Africa, Asia	Review/Modeling	Emphasized climate change impact on vector-borne disease maps

Boolean search strings that were applied are as follows:

• (“neglected tropical diseases” OR “NTDs”) AND “burden” OR DALY OR elimination OR control OR mass drug administration OR research gaps OR vaccine OR diagnostics).

The studies published other than in English were not included. Qualified sources were required to fulfill any of the three criteria:

• Empirical information on disease burden (e.g., disability-adjusted life year [DALY], prevalence)
• Assessment or characterization of NTD interventions (e.g., MDA, water, sanitation, and hygiene [WASH], vector control)
• The discussion of research innovations (diagnostics, vaccines, digital tools)

The materials excluded were abstracts of conferences, opinion articles, as well as local-language gray literature that lacked institutional review (Figure 1). Following the removal of the duplicates, the titles and abstracts were screened, and subsequently, the full-text screening followed. Eighty-seven primary documents that were synthesized consisted of WHO technical documents, systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials, and implementation case studies. Even though a formal risk-of-bias analysis on individual studies was not undertaken, sources were systematically and informally grouped by evidence type (systematic review, RCT, cohort, program report) to aid interpretation. To facilitate thematic synthesis, data were categorized according to NTD type (e.g., leishmaniasis, lymphatic filariasis [LF], trachoma), and intervention type (e.g., MDA, vector control, diagnostics). Results are summarized with narrative accounts accompanied by critical cross-comparisons and related trends (i.e., DALY shifts and program results) (Table 1).

Global Burden and Epidemiology of NTDs

Key NTDs and Their Impact

NTDs still cause serious problems for public health in regions with low incomes. Important examples of neglected tropical diseases are schistosomiasis, leishmaniasis, LF, onchocerciasis, trachoma, STHs, and Chagas disease. An estimated 200 million people worldwide suffer from schistosomiasis, resulting in ongoing harm to the liver, intestines, and sexual organs.² There are more than a million new cases of leishmaniasis every year, and the visceral form of the disease can lead to death when left untreated.⁴ Mosquitoes carrying the LF parasite give rise to lymphedema and elephantiasis in around 40 million people. Onchocerciasis, sometimes called river blindness, affects certain parts of Africa and Latin America and may eventually lead to the patient going blind.⁵ Chlamydia trachomatis causes trachoma, which continues to be the biggest infectious cause of blindness, affecting about 1.9 million people with visual problems.³ Populations of at least 1.5 billion people, mainly children, are affected by infections like roundworm, whipworm, and hookworm, which can lead to lower blood levels and poor nutrition-related brain development. One-third of those with Chagas disease in Latin America develop problems related to the heart and digestive tract.¹

DALYs and Mortality

Even though NTDs mainly lead to chronic diseases, they are key contributors to the world’s disability burden. DALYs linked to NTDs make up more than 19 million years every year, GBD 2019 research concludes.⁴ Health experts estimate that more than 170,000 die each year from NTDs, but this number could be too low because there is not enough information (Table 2). Most NTDs tarnish a person’s reputation and stop them from fully taking part in their community.⁶

Table 2: DALY Trends for selected NTDs (2010 vs. 2019).7
NTD	DALYs in 2010 (in millions)	DALYs in 2019 (in millions)	% Change (2010–2019)	Key Notes
Schistosomiasis	3.31	2.53	↓ 23.6%	Reduced due to scaled MDA campaigns and improved WASH initiatives
LF	2.78	1.88	↓ 32.4%	Major gains in Africa (e.g., Togo, Malawi) via community MDA distribution
Onchocerciasis	1.13	0.78	↓ 31.0%	Success attributed to community-directed ivermectin treatment (CDTI)
STHs	4.88	3.65	↓ 25.2%	School-based deworming and sanitation campaigns key to decline
Leishmaniasis (visceral)	1.90	1.45	↓ 23.7%	Some improvement, but resurgence risk due to conflict and vector resistance
Trachoma	1.34	0.90	↓ 32.8%	SAFE strategy (Surgery, Antibiotics, Facial cleanliness, Environmental change) effective
Chagas Disease	0.59	0.56	↓ 5.1%	Modest decline, largely due to underdiagnosis and insufficient vector control

Socioeconomic and Environmental Determinants

Both poverty and marginalization are connected to what is known as NTDs. Other factors include dirty water, bad housing, a lack of medical facilities, and being located next to mosquitoes, blackflies, and triatomine bugs.⁸ Because of deforestation, city crowding, and climate change, insect vectors and pathogens are more easily spread to different areas and affect more people. The existing circumstances in these places keep poverty and disease going on.⁵ Moreover, emerging studies emphasize how the changing temperatures and humidity conditions have been drastically altering the geographical distribution of vector-borne NTDs such as dengue and leishmaniasis, putting more people in cities, hitherto without problems, in danger.⁹

Regional Distribution

A limited number of areas are greatly affected by NTDs. The region is affected by high amounts of schistosomiasis, LF, onchocerciasis, and STHs. South Asia is still fighting leishmaniasis, LF, and leprosy.⁸ Chagas disease and leishmaniasis are most common in rural and peri-urban areas of Latin America. The fact that diseases are found in different parts of the world points to the need for specialized programs suited to each area6 (Figure 2).

Current Control and Elimination Programs

WHO 2030 NTD Roadmap

The 2021–2030 NTD Roadmap lays out a strategic plan to boost and tune actions to control, eliminate, or eradicate NTDs. Under the plan, the goal is to see a 90% reduction in how many people need help with NTDs, eliminate at least one type of NTD in 100 nations, and cut 75% in DALYs because of NTDs.¹⁰ In comparison to before, the new strategy is designed to connect various sectors and underlines that countries should own, share, and sustain the process (Figure 3). It fits with worldwide plans to advance health, including UHC and the SDGs, especially SDG 3.¹¹

MDA

Controlling LF, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, STHs, and trachoma largely depends on MDA.10 Chemotherapy is sometimes given at regular intervals to those who might be at risk, using campaigns in schools or at people’s homes.¹² Many people take albendazole, mebendazole, ivermectin, praziquantel, and azithromycin, and pharmaceutical partnerships provide most of these drugs. Delivering treatment is mainly done by community drug distributors in remote or underserved locations. As a result of MDA programs, both Togo and Malawi no longer consider LF a major public health challenge.¹³ However, for momentum to continue, treatments should be connected to usual health care, and strong follow-up is needed.¹¹

Vector Control and WASH Interventions

Vector control measures and WASH activities are important supplements to the use of drugs in controlling diseases. Controlling diseases spread by vectors such as dengue, leishmaniasis, and onchocerciasis is done using an integrated vector management approach involving tools such as insecticide-treated nets, spraying in living areas, and larval control.8 In addition, improving WASH facilities and services—ensuring clean water, enhanced sanitation, and hygiene education —is crucial for preventing the spread of trachoma and STHs (Figure 4). The SAFE program (Surgery, Antibiotics, Facial cleanliness, Environmental improvement) is a good example of linking WASH with medical action.¹³

Community-Based Health Programs

NTD services have reached difficult-to-serve communities due to the efforts of community-led projects. A major case to note is the CDTI strategy for onchocerciasis in Africa. Here, communities oversee drug distribution from start to finish, resulting in greater community acceptance, higher coverage, and outcomes that last.¹³ Deworming, malaria prevention, and maternal-child health services are some of the new health interventions being distributed on these platforms to effectively unite different parts of the health system.¹⁵

Donor and Partner Initiatives

Putting an end to NTDs at a global scale has depended a lot on international agreements and the help of donors. The United States Agency for International Development has made grants to control NTDs in at least 25 different countries.⁸ In particular, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has directed much of its funds to research about diagnostics and vaccines. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, has helped districts that experience dengue start using vaccines.16 By forming a public-private alliance, Uniting to Combat NTDs has moved governments, NGOs, academia, and corporations to join forces and show continuous support. The MDA campaigns are supported by large drug donations from pharmaceutical companies.¹¹ All these actions have greatly improved progress toward managing and eliminating NTDs. For success to continue, the field must keep progressing, better integrate with primary care, and focus on equity and sustainability10 (Figure 5).

Challenges in Program Implementation

Even though action on NTDs has improved, major obstacles still face the success of control and elimination strategies. Various challenges such as biological, technological, systemic, and geopolitical barriers, stop NTD interventions from advancing and achieving equity.¹⁶

Drug Resistance and Limited Pharmaceutical Pipeline

More and more, NTD control is affected by drug resistance, mainly seen with frequently used products like albendazole and mebendazole.¹² Veterinary researchers have seen that resistance in parasitic worms could disrupt MDA efforts to target STHs and LF.¹⁷ In addition, the number of new pharmaceuticals for NTDs is very small when compared to other conditions. Much of today’s drugs were discovered decades ago, while pharmaceutical R&D receives little support because it lacks sufficient commercial incentive. As a result, the response worldwide could weaken if NTDs are resisted by many people or if new types of diseases develop.¹⁸

Surveillance Gaps and Underreporting

Programs can be successfully monitored and responded to only if surveillance is on-point. However, this is not always the case in endemic regions. Often, health information systems do not have the necessary setup or staff to collect and analyze data dependably.¹⁹ Many people with NTDs like schistosomiasis and Chagas disease remain undiagnosed or untreated for extended periods, as their early symptoms can be dull and like many other diseases. In some places, a lack of proper tests makes it harder to find out about new cases. Therefore, collecting valuable data on disease becomes hard, assessing program achievements is difficult, and spotting outbreaks quickly is challenging.²⁰

Health System Fragmentation and Funding Limitations

Most of the time, NTD programs work beside national health systems, stopping short of being fully integrated into them. Because of this splintering, it becomes inefficient, causing repeated efforts and challenges in expanding solutions.²¹ Moreover, much of the money for NTD work comes from donations, raising the question of how sustainable the programs will be. If priorities change for donors or the economy slows down, important services such as MDA, monitoring, and education can be cut.¹⁸

Logistical and Political Barriers

It remains very difficult to organize MDA campaigns and other interventions in remote and resource-poor places. Problems in managing drug supply, ensuring there is enough vaccine storage capacity, hiring and training health staff, and involving several areas in the response are all challenges.⁴ In such regions, problems like insecurity, poor governance, and damaged infrastructure make these efforts very difficult. Making NTDs a priority in health programs takes political support, but some countries do not give these diseases enough importance.⁵

Access Challenges in Conflict Zones and Remote Populations

A lot of those susceptible to NTDs live in environments like conflict zones, refugee camps, or remote regions. Because of the dangers, lack of good roads, or limited services, these communities are rarely served by the national health system.²² As a result, such communities miss treatment and prevention which leads to health inequality and allows disease to spread.²⁰ However, recent observations have shown that community-based microplanning in conflict-prone regions of Yemen and DR Congo considerably expanded the coverage of medicines to treat STHs and schistosomiasis even when infrastructural disruption occurred.²³

Key Research Gaps and Opportunities

Effective strategies for controlling and eliminating NTDs have shown major success worldwide. At the same time, there are still important gaps in the research and innovation that hold back development.⁸ Filling these gaps is necessary to maintain energy and meet the goals the WHO proposed for 2030.²¹ Five important opportunities exist in diagnostics, vaccine innovation, pharmaceutical research, implementing science and digital health tools.¹⁶

Diagnostics: The Need for Affordable and Accessible Tools

There is currently a big need for better, more affordable, and portable diagnostic aids for controlling NTDs. Popular approaches for checking for NTDs such as microscopy of stool for schistosomiasis or biopsies for leishmaniasis, work poorly under low-resource conditions.¹⁹ Often, people who have a mild infection or no symptoms spread the disease further and the cases are fewer.²⁰ With CRISPR and LAMP tools, bringing point-of-care diagnostics within reach is now considered possible. In addition, microscopes linked to smartphones and tools called lab-on-a-chip are beginning to have a major impact, especially where travel to busy labs is difficult.²¹ Current developments in artificial intelligence have made it possible to access image-based disease diagnostics (diseases like leishmaniasis and trachoma) on an extremely small infrastructure like a smartphone in real time, especially in remote areas where frontline employees can screen and monitor NTD with high accuracy.

Vaccine Development: A Slow but Crucial Frontier

Although some NTD vaccines are now being developed, fewer efforts are going into them than into vaccines for diseases common in high-income countries. There are two approved dengue vaccines (CYD-TDV and TAK-003), yet they seem to work less effectively for some types of the virus and certain parts of the population. However, research on vaccines for leishmaniasis, hookworm,²⁴ schistosomiasis, and Chagas disease is still in almost all cases very early in the process. Sabin Vaccine Institute and similar organizations are working on possible vaccines, but they encounter huge barriers with finance and logistics.²¹ Despite the technical progress, several barriers to equal access to NTD immunization can be seen in the prices, production bottlenecks as well as deficiency of distribution infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.²⁵ Stimulating public and private partnerships, lowering the risk for vaccine research, and providing extra help for large-scale clinical studies in endemic areas will greatly speed up access to vaccines.²⁴

Drug Resistance Monitoring and Development of New Compounds

Various programs based on MDA are worried about the rising threat of drug resistance. Lots of people taking similar drugs concern health officials about possible resistance, particularly to albendazole, mebendazole, and ivermectin.¹⁵ Even so, the monitoring of systematic resistance is still lacking in most areas where diseases are common. Growing efforts to closely watch for both drug effectiveness and signs of drug resistance are required.¹⁷ Grouped under the DNDi, some organizations have made progress in anti-parasitic drug development, yet more capital is needed.18 Researchers need to put greater importance on developing unique drugs, combining treatments, and inventing long-lasting forms of medications.²⁶

Implementation Science: Understanding What Works

We must grasp the reasons behind what works and what does not work in specific health contexts. Implementation science allows for the discovery of top practices for community programs, increases how things are delivered, and makes sure interventions stay manageable and work after introduction.⁷ For example, onchocerciasis control has benefited from community-directed treatment models, but using them in another setting needs them to be changed locally.¹⁹ Program designers should pay more attention to cultural suitability, expectations of gender roles, health awareness, and stakeholder trust when they make programs.²¹ Adopting firm research practices and adaptable ways to study treatments can reduce the difference between research and how treatments are used in practice.²⁷

Digital Health Tools: Enhancing Surveillance and Engagement

Many new digital tools are now being used to upgrade NTD tracking, run programs well, and connect with communities. Apps for phone data capture, reminder texts, and virtual maps help track events and respond immediately.¹⁶ Through ESPEN Collect, WHO AFRO proved that collecting data on mobile platforms leads to better information and helps plan correctly for health services. Secure cross-border data sharing, program planning, and visualization of outbreaks, particularly of trachoma and LF elimination campaigns, is now made possible via integrated digital platforms such as the NTD Data Exchange (NDE).²⁸ In addition, digital health tools can support learning in health, increase the proper use of treatments, and guide the training of community health workers.²⁹ Even so, to scale up these tools, governments must invest in network infrastructure, improve data safety, and help to build local teams.³⁰ Table 3 sums up a prioritization matrix of the main future actions by urgency, feasibility, and cost estimates which will be available to facilitate evidence-based resource allocation and decision-making process.

Table 3: Prioritization matrix of future research and implementation needs in ntd control (2025–2030).
Action Area	Priority Level	Estimated Cost Range (Where Available)	Rationale
Development of rapid diagnostic tools	High	$5M–$20M per tool (WHO, 2023)	Critical for early detection and surveillance, especially in low-resource areas
Vaccine development for leishmaniasis	High	$150M–$250M (DNDi, 2024)	High disease burden, no licensed vaccine yet
Drug resistance surveillance systems	High	$10M–$30M	Rising resistance to MDA drugs threatens program success
Integration with primary health care (PHC)	High	Context-specific; varies by country	Essential for sustainability and UHC
Vector control innovation (e.g., IVM nets)	Medium	$20M–$50M (per region deployment)	Important for dengue, and leishmaniasis, but dependent on environmental context
Digital health tools for tracking	Medium	$2M–$10M per national deployment	Enhances program efficiency and real-time data collection
Gender-responsive programming	Medium	$1M–$5M	Improves equity and effectiveness in community-level delivery
WASH–NTD program integration	Medium	$25–$100 per person (WaterAid, 2023)	Improves long-term control of trachoma and STH
Community-led microplanning	Medium	$500K–$5M per region	Proven effectiveness in fragile and conflict areas
Supply chain logistics & cold-chain	Medium	$5M–$15M (per national scale-up)	Needed for vaccine and drug stability in remote areas
Expansion of implementation science	Medium	$3M–$8M	Identifies scalable, cost-effective approaches across contexts
Cross-border data-sharing platforms	Low	$2M–$5M	Useful but depends on regional political cooperation
Climate-informed disease modeling	Low	$2M–$4M	Long-term planning utility; indirect impact on short-term control
One Health research on zoonotic NTDs	Low	$5M–$10M	High research value but limited near-term programmatic application
Incentivizing private-sector R&D	Low	Variable; dependent on PPP frameworks	Long-term impact; indirect influence on access and innovation

Future Directions and Recommendations

Long-term success against NTDs can only be achieved by a future that strongly emphasizes integration and cross-sectoral cooperation, and keeps equity and local buy-in as key priorities. As well as promoting sustainability, these pillars also deal with the reasons diseases remain or recur.

Integration into PHC Systems

It is important to organically link NTD services into the main policies of national PHC to keep them strong. Programs focused on one nation are effective for fast growth, but often face difficulties continuing when other support ends.³¹ With integration, diseases can be consistently observed, cases dealt with promptly, and drugs provided in line with other important health services.³² By integrating NTD strategies with programs for mothers, children, or schools, both reach more people and encounter fewer problems with logistics. The integration will be successful if the countries strengthen their health systems with people, logistics, and financing in place.³³ The flowchart provided below represents a description of scalable interventional measures based on the health system preparedness level. It guides the program managers and national planners in making decisions (Figure 6).

Multisectoral Partnerships and the One Health Approach

Many areas aside from health must collaborate in controlling and eradicating NTDs. The idea of One Health focuses on how human, animal, and environmental health connect, a fact that especially applies to NTDs such as echinococcosis and leishmaniasis.³⁴ Efforts in education for school deworming, agriculture for food protection and zoonoses, and water and sanitation for WASH programs are very important. NTD goals should be included in national development plans together with economic, environmental, and social measures, benefiting from working together.³⁴

Equity and Gender Considerations

As NTDs are managed, equity should continue to lead the way. Many women and girls must deal with negative NTD stigma, becoming disabled, and carrying the main responsibility for caring for others. When using a gender approach, programs must address the problems of access to health care caused by cultural beliefs, financial issues, and unsafe environments.⁷ Breaking down data by sex and age allows agencies to design solutions that are right for each group. NDT projects must take care to guarantee that marginalized communities in conflict areas, remote places, and slums are included.³⁵

Local Research Capacity and Community Engagement

Making progress sustainably depends on building capacity for research within communities. Groups affected by public health challenges must join in developing, putting into place, and assessing the effects of interventions. Local leaders, community health teams, and networks of civil society groups help people to cooperate, finding ways to improve health and earn their trust. At the same time, strengthening local research facilities and educating early-career scientists working nearby will help create evidence, new solutions, and policy ideas for those areas.³⁶

Conclusion

NTDs continue to be a major health problem around the world, more so for those who are poor and regularly excluded from society. They cause ongoing illness, make it hard for people to work, and lead to disconnection from their communities, keeping poverty and underdevelopment around. Despite these problems, NTDs have been greatly reduced over the past two decades. MDA, control of insect carriers, and community measures have helped several countries reduce key disease burdens and get close to elimination.

Still, many obstacles make it hard for the process to continue advancing. Where access to a limited number of drugs is common, drug resistance is growing into a major issue. Because surveillance in many endemic areas is still poor, cases are often underreported and health authorities respond late. When health care is split and funding is limited, the future of interventions is uncertain, mainly in areas impacted by conflict and crises. Focusing on these difficulties means we need to rely on solutions that are sustainable, based on research, and led by locals. For the next stage of NTD control, we need to enhance diagnostics, work faster on vaccines, and concentrate on implementation science. NTD programs should be included in regular health programs, and the public should play an active part in deciding and delivering such programs.

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Cite this article as:
Ahmed R. The Burden of Neglected Tropical Diseases: A Global Review of Control Programs and Research Gaps. Premier Journal of Public Health 2025;4:100022

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