Mary Ann McDowell • Sima Rafati
Editors

2014

The Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) are a group of 17 viral, bacterial, protozoan, and helminth infections that disproportionately affect the most vulnerable populations. The concept of NTDs begun to take shape following the 2000 Millennium Development Goals put forth by the United Nations, specifically Goal # 6 to combat HIV/AIDs, malaria, and other diseases. Although the “other diseases” category spurred substantial debate, it is now accepted that the 17 diseases classified as NTDs by the World Health Organization (WHO) represent some of this “other” category. Compared to HIV/AIDs, malaria, and tuberculosis at 42.1 %, NTDs have generally been ignored (i.e., neglected), receiving only 0.6 % of official assistance for health (Liese and Schubert 2009). These diseases do not cause substantial global mortality; however, morbidity can rival HIV/AIDs and malaria (Murray et al. 2012; Vos et al. 2012).