By Haruna Gimba
The World Health Organization (WHO) has welcomed the announcement that Novartis Pharmaceutical Corporation will commit $250 million to the fight against neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and malaria.
This comes in the wake of the Kigali Summit on Malaria and NTDs, which was held alongside the 26th Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM), on 23 June 2022.
The Kigali Declaration, announced at the event, aims to mobilize the political will and commitments required to achieve the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal 3 (the “health goal”), which includes NTDs, and to deliver the targets set in WHO’s NTD road map for 2021–2030.
The financial commitment announced by Novartis will help fund cutting-edge research and development, and will focus specifically on developing new, effective treatments for three NTDs (Chagas disease, dengue and visceral leishmaniasis), in addition to cryptosporidiosis and malaria.
WHO welcomes equally the commitment to partnership included in the investment, whereby Novartis will link with The Wellcome Trust, the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative and other partners, to fight diseases which blight the lives of millions of people in some of the world’s poorest communities.
