Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) of the Middle East and North Africa

Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) of the Middle East and North Africa

The neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are highly endemic but patchily distributed among the 20 countries and almost 400 million people of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and disproportionately affect an estimated 65 million people living on less than US$2 per day.

Great strides have been made towards elimination of several endemic NTDs, including lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis) in Egypt and Yemen; schistosomiasis (parasite infection) in Iran, Morocco, and Oman; and trachoma (eye infection) in Morocco, Algeria, Iran, Libya, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Conflict and human and animal migrations are key social determinants in preventing the control or elimination of NTDs in the MENA, while local political will, strengthened international and intersectoral cooperative efforts for surveillance, mass drug administration, and vaccination are essential for elimination.

NTDs are largely ignored by medical science, partly because they do not represent a viable commercial market for private pharmaceutical companies. At present, the prevailing strategy for improving access to medicines for these NTDs is drug donation programmes, which often have uncertain sustainability.

Developing countries in demographic and economic transition are uniquely poised to be leaders in a shift towards a more sustainable, affordable means of providing access to medicines for NTDs. Brazil, China, and India are unique in that they have managed to cultivate their own pharmaceutical industry with the capacity to produce affordable drugs for NTDs for use in domestic and international markets.

Dr. Francesca Holt of St. John's College at the University of Cambridge and colleagues explore the experience of these three countries in nurturing local pharmaceutical industries with an emphasis on the effects of adopting different legal frameworks and a discussion of possible paths to sustainability and improved access.

Posted by George Daniels on Monday March 26 2012, 3:30 AM EST. Ref: Dr. Francesca Holt, et al. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0