A small west African nation has done something no country had ever done before: wipe out four neglected tropical diseases in just over a decade. The World Health Organization recognized Togo in 2022 C.E. with an outstanding achievement award for eliminating Guinea worm, lymphatic filariasis, sleeping sickness, and trachoma — a milestone WHO officials called a model for the entire continent.
At a glance
- Neglected tropical diseases: Togo eliminated all four conditions within 11 years, starting with Guinea worm in 2011 C.E. and finishing with trachoma in 2022 C.E.
- WHO recognition: The World Health Organization presented Togo with an outstanding achievement award, calling it the first country in the world to reach this milestone.
- Sub-Saharan Africa first: Togo was also the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to eliminate lymphatic filariasis (2017 C.E.) and sleeping sickness (2020 C.E.).
Why these four diseases matter
Neglected tropical diseases — NTDs — are a group of 20 preventable, treatable conditions that are routinely left out of health budgets and global funding. They are not neglected because they are rare. About 1.7 billion people worldwide are still affected by them.
What makes them especially cruel is their compounding effect. These diseases can disfigure and disable, and they trap individuals and whole communities in cycles of extreme poverty. About 40% of the people affected by NTDs live in Africa. In 2015 C.E., 630 million people on the continent needed treatment for at least one NTD. By 2020 C.E., that number had fallen to 598 million — progress, but still an enormous burden.
Guinea worm causes excruciating pain as a parasite slowly emerges through the skin. Lymphatic filariasis, also known as elephantiasis, causes severe swelling of the limbs. Sleeping sickness attacks the nervous system and is fatal if untreated. Trachoma is the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness. Togo eliminated all four.
How Togo did it
The effort took political will as much as medical skill. Togo’s president, Faure Gnassingbé, framed it directly: “Health is a priority that we have placed at the heart of our development policies.”
Thoko Elphick-Pooley, director of the global partnership Uniting to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases, said Togo’s success came down to “committed country and political ownership.” That kind of sustained national focus — sustained across multiple disease campaigns, over more than a decade — is what set Togo apart.
The broader international framework also helped. In 2012 C.E., 100 donor countries, pharmaceutical companies, research institutions, and civil society organizations endorsed the London Declaration, committing to control or eliminate 10 NTDs by 2020 C.E. Since then, pharmaceutical companies have donated more than 14 billion treatments. Forty-six countries have now eliminated at least one NTD.
A signal to the rest of Africa
Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO’s regional director for Africa, was direct in her assessment: “Togo has achieved a major feat. This achievement is an example for the rest of Africa and shows what is possible when health is made a priority.”
Three months before the WHO award, world leaders meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, reconfirmed their commitments to eradicating NTDs by 2030 C.E. Togo’s four eliminations — achieved before that deadline — give the broader campaign a proof of concept. If a low-income country with limited resources can hit this mark four times over, the 2030 C.E. goal is within reach for others.
Elphick-Pooley put it plainly: “I hope that leaders across Africa are inspired by the incredible actions taken by Togo to transform the health of its citizens.”
The work still ahead
Togo’s achievement does not change the scale of the global challenge. Nearly 600 million people in Africa alone still need treatment for at least one NTD, and funding remains uneven. The year prior to Togo’s award, Uniting to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases warned that cuts to U.K. government aid could seriously set back NTD progress across the continent — a reminder that even landmark milestones can be undone when political and financial commitments waver. Sustaining elimination, and extending it to every affected community, will require the same long-term resolve Togo demonstrated.
Read more
For more on this story, see: The Guardian
For more from Good News for Humankind, see:
- Renewables now make up at least 49% of global power capacity
- Global suicide rate has fallen by 40% since 1995
- The Good News for Humankind archive on Togo
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