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Dakar, Senegal – On World NTD Day, Speak Up Africa responds to the global call to “Unite, Act, Eliminate” with its GOING FURTHER initiative. This initiative pushes the boundaries of the fight against NTDs by mobilizing a diverse coalition of voices. The “Going Further” campaign engages a wide range of actors – artists, athletes, and people affected by NTDs – with particular attention to women and youth. It aims to build a community movement with three main objectives: making NTDs a priority on the health agenda, increasing investments, and developing people-centered and community-focused solutions. This initiative is crucial as more than one billion people worldwide are affected by these preventable and treatable diseases, with the African continent alone bearing 40% of this burden.
World NTD Day is an opportunity to celebrate progress: twenty-two African nations have already eliminated at least one NTD, and several have eliminated more than one, demonstrating the continent’s strong commitment to public health. The world is now halfway to the WHO’s 2030 NTD roadmap goal of eliminating at least one NTD in 100 countries by 2030.
This day is also an opportunity to address upcoming challenges: strengthening health systems, addressing the link between NTDs and climate change in a world facing increasing environmental changes, and the lack of person-centered and community-led approaches.
The GOING FURTHER initiative explores new opportunities in the fight against NTDs by involving people and communities affected by neglected tropical diseases. We leverage their invaluable expertise and ensure solutions are adapted to real needs. We challenge and go beyond traditional health advocacy approaches by encouraging cross-sector collaboration, amplifying community voices, and fostering inclusive partnerships. These champions illustrate the power of diversity, setting a new standard for what it means to unite, act, and eliminate NTDs.
“Through GOING FURTHER, we amplify the voices of artists, athletes, and community leaders across Africa to transform how we fight neglected tropical diseases. By bringing these diverse perspectives to decision-makers, we create the political momentum and community engagement needed to eliminate NTDs for good,” says Yacine Djibo, Executive Director and Founder of Speak Up Africa.
For World NTD Day, the GOING FURTHER initiative will bring together young leaders, musicians, and artists across Senegal, Kenya, and Ethiopia and connect communities through the power of sport in Benin and Senegal. In partnership with the Basketball Africa League (BAL), young people will learn how to prevent and fight NTDs in their communities and their opponents on the court by participating in a basketball game. In Niger, Burkina Faso, and Kenya, communities will also organize workshops and screenings to raise awareness and improve detection in their communities.
Champions across Africa will unite to support the elimination of NTDs on this World NTD Day by using their voices, platforms, and expertise to ensure sustainability, effectiveness, and equity in the fight against NTDs.
The time for action is now. We call on global leaders to demonstrate their commitment by integrating NTD elimination goals into national health policies, allocating dedicated budget lines, and incorporating NTD programs into universal health coverage plans.
Our collective success relies on coordinated action at all levels: governments must strengthen their domestic financing, the private sector must invest in innovative treatment distribution solutions, and financial partners must maintain their vital support. Because doing nothing will cost far more than acting to eliminate these diseases.
Together, we must go further than traditional approaches and forge new partnerships that place affected communities at the center of solutions. On this World NTD Day, join us in building a future where tropical diseases are no longer neglected.
Speak Up Africa
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Zambia : The vital role of community health assistants in public health surveillance
Lusaka — African health ministers and partners are calling for increased investment in integrated health services to address the growing burden of severe noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), particularly those affecting women and underserved populations across the region. At a high-level side event during the Seventy-fifth session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa, delegates emphasized the urgent need for equitable access to prevention, screening, treatment, and rehabilitation across the continuum of care for NCDs. Disparities are especially pronounced in rural areas, where health infrastructure and services remain inadequate. Breast and cervical cancers are among the leading causes of cancer-related deaths among women in sub-Saharan Africa—particularly cervical cancer, which is both preventable and treatable. It remains the most common cause of cancer death for women in the region. In 2022, Africa accounted for nearly a quarter (23%) of the 76 000 global cervical cancer deaths. Meanwhile, severe NCDs such as Type 1 diabetes, sickle cell disease, and heart conditions claim more than half a million lives annually, including among children, adolescents, and young adults in some of the continent’s poorest communities. Inequitable access to health services continues to hinder efforts to reduce this burden. To improve cervical and breast cancer care in the region, urgent investment is needed in leadership, governance, and financing. Strengthening these foundations is critical in the current funding landscape. Advancements in strategic planning, healthcare infrastructure, workforce training, and—most importantly—equitable access to screening, diagnostic, and treatment services are essential. To address these challenges, WHO and its partners showcased successful integrated models such as the Women’s Integrated Care for Cancer Services (WICS), the BEAT Breast Cancer Project, and the PEN-Plus Strategy. WICS strengthens early detection, treatment, and integration of women’s cancer services into primary health care systems in Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, and Zimbabwe. The BEAT Breast Cancer Project is a transformative multi-year initiative aimed at reducing breast cancer mortality among women in Tanzania and Ghana through early detection, timely diagnosis, and comprehensive treatment access. “PEN-Plus, WICS and the BEAT Breast Cancer Initiative are models for a new standard of care, rooted in equity, access and health justice. I urge countries to prioritize policies that embed these models into broader health system strengthening, said Dr Mohamed Janabi, WHO Regional Director for Africa”. Côte d’Ivoire offers a compelling example of progress, combining high HPV vaccination coverage—reaching over three million girls (91.4%)—with WICS-supported community-based screening campaigns to strengthen cervical cancer prevention. In Kenya, cervical cancer screening has been successfully integrated into national health services. “This gathering marks a pivotal moment to accelerate action for breast cancer prevention in Africa. We deeply value the leadership of the Ministries of Health of Ghana and Tanzania, and the steadfast support of the Pfizer Foundation in helping us achieve this milestone. The side event builds momentum for the policy prioritization of women’s cancers, partnerships to strengthen the broader women’s cancer ecosystem, and advance a health-systems approach to breast cancer prevention and management”, said Dr Somesh Kumar, Senior Director, Jhpiego. PEN-Plus expands access to care for severe NCDs at the district hospital level. Since its implementation, 20 countries in Africa have increased access to services for severe NCDs. Over 15 000 people are currently receiving treatment for chronic conditions such as sickle cell disease and Type 1 diabetes through PEN-Plus clinics.
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