63 Countries Eliminate Neglected Tropical Diseases
WHO's midterm assessment finds progress on neglected tropical disease targets, while donor cuts and rising dengue and vector-borne deaths threaten gains.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Diseases — General
The World Health Organization reported that 63 countries had eliminated at least one neglected tropical disease by June 2026, up from 42 at the end of 2020. The findings come from its 2026 midterm assessment of the 2021-2030 NTD road map.
Why it matters
Only three disease-specific indicators reached their 2025 milestones, and resources for NTDs remain 30% below pre-COVID-19 levels. With five years left to 2030, the report says faster and sustained action will be needed to protect fragile gains.
The WHO assessment is a midterm progress review of global NTD indicators, comparing 2024 and 2025 results against 2010, 1999 and 2020 baselines. Dengue cases reached a record 15.1 million in 2024 and resources remain 30% below pre-COVID-19 levels, but how those trends will shape the 2030 outcomes is not yet clear.
The players
World Health Organization
The United Nations agency responsible for international public health, which published the 2026 Global report on neglected tropical diseases assessing midterm progress on the 2021-2030 NTD road map.
The details
Countries are mainstreaming NTDs into national health strategies, essential service packages and domestic budgets, and several diseases are being addressed through shared service delivery. Guinea worm disease fell to a record low of 10 human cases in 2025, while abrupt donor reductions have disrupted mass treatment, case management, surveillance and vector control.
Timeline
• 1999: Baseline year for the 98% decline in sleeping sickness cases.
• 2010: Baseline year for the 36% decline in people requiring NTD interventions.
• 2018-2024: Period in which a small number of donors provided nearly 80% of NTD development assistance.
• 2024: Requiring NTD interventions fell to 1.41 billion; dengue cases hit a record.
• 2025: Guinea worm fell to a record low and three indicators met their milestones.
Health Landscape
The midterm assessment measures progress against the WHO 2021-2030 NTD Road Map, whose 2025 milestones were met by only three disease-specific indicators. The gap between the 63 countries now eliminating diseases and the stalled indicators shows how unevenly the road map's targets are being reached.
Residents in countries affected by NTDs may see changes in access to mass drug treatment and vector control programs as domestic budgets take over funding. Households in endemic areas face continued risk from dengue and other vector-borne diseases, which reached record case counts in 2024.
The takeaway
Progress on neglected tropical diseases depends on sustained funding and surveillance, not only past gains. Individuals in affected regions should keep up with local vector control and treatment programs even as the 2030 targets remain distant.
Further reading
For more on the global picture, see Diseases — General.
