My route around the planet will pass through many of the regions most affected by the Neglected Tropical Diseases. The World Health Organisation currently recognises and is focusing on the 14 diseases listed below. All are a symptom of poverty and disadvantage… 100% of low-income countries are affected by at least five neglected tropical diseases simultaneously. WHO treats them as a group because although medically diverse in terms of their causes and physical effects, all of these diseases cause severe disability and life-long impairments and because they are associated with conditions of poverty, these diseases tend to overlap geographically. Individuals are often afflicted with more than one parasite or infection.  Click on the links below to find out more information about each condition.

Extent of neglect... countries with endemic distribution of multiple neglected tropical diseases

• Buruli ulcer                                           • Leishmaniasis
• Chagas disease                                      • Leprosy
• Cholera/Epidemic diarrhoeal diseases         • Lymphatic filariasis
• Dengue/dengue haemorrhagic fever         • Onchocerciasis
• Dracunculiasis (guinea-worm disease)        • Schistosomiasis
• Endemic Treponematoses                       • Soil-transmitted helminthiasis
• Trachoma                                             • Human African trypanosomiasis

These infections cause an enormous economic burden for endemic countries. Most either blind, debilitate, deform, or maim often resulting in life-long physical pain, social stigmatization and abuse. What’s more their development is insidious and severe impairments often occur after years of virtually silent infection, leaving patients unaware of the need to seek care.

An estimated 1 billion people – one sixth of the world population – are infected with one or more of these diseases yet with little political voice, neglected tropical diseases have a low profile and status in public health priorities. Lack of reliable statistics and unpronounceable names of diseases have all hampered efforts to bring them out of the shadows.

I have a professional interest in tropical medicine and infectious disease. En route I’m planning to visit a number of remote hospitals and clinics in order to witness firsthand the work of various health workers in different environments treating patients with the Neglected Tropical Diseases in an effort to gain some understanding of healthcare systems and the contrasting problems encountered in different areas of the planet. I plan to visit some of the projects run by Merlin as well as government and independent centres of health care. I’ll also be volunteering for a short period in 3 of the hospitals I visit utilising training I’ve obtained in the UK.

Here's 10 Key Facts about the NTDs

Video (produced by the WHO - 25 minutes)

Source – WHO website (http://www.who.int/neglected_diseases/en/)