Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are the most common infections of the world’s poorest people and the leading causes of chronic disability and poverty in low- and middle-income countries [1–3]. NTDs (Table 1) especially affect children and young women of reproductive age [4], and consequently deprive them of their health and economic potential [3]. NTDs also impair agricultural productiv-ity and are an important reason why the world’s poorest 1.4 billion people who live below the poverty line cannot escape destitution and despair [3]. Despite the devastating effect of these diseases on health and development, with evidence that their global burden is as great as that of any other serious disease [1–3], finan-cial support for control and elimination efforts, as well as research and develop-ment (R&D), have been inadequate [2,5]. Indeed, in Millennium Development Goal 6 (to ‘‘combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases’’), NTDs were not even specifically mentioned but merely consid-ered as part of the ‘‘other diseases’ ’ [6]. However, policy makers are slowly begin-ning to appreciate the importance of NTDs.
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Hotez et al. (2010) studied this question.