WHO Warns of Tropical Disease Impact in Eastern Mediterranean

Amman: The World Health Organization's Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean said that the organization's overall estimates indicate that 1,089,573 disability-adjusted life years were lost due to neglected tropical diseases in 2019 in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. The organization added, in a statement issued by the Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean Tuesday, on the occasion of the World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day, which falls on January 30 annually, that in 2021, 72 million people in the region needed interventions to combat and eliminate these diseases. The Eastern Mediterranean Region has a higher burden of skin-related neglected tropical diseases; These diseases not only cause skin lesions but also cause psychological problems, stigma, exclusion and stress. According to the statement, the Eastern Mediterranean Region bears the largest global burden of cutaneous leishmaniasis, and Egypt, Somalia and Sudan are among 23 priority countries globally regarding leprosy. The organi zation stressed the need to increase awareness and efforts to prevent and treat these diseases, calling on everyone to unite and work to eliminate neglected tropical diseases. The organization stressed the urgent need for financial support and cooperation to eliminate these diseases. Funding, it noted, is essential to continue improving health infrastructure and increasing access to treatment. Neglected tropical diseases consist of 20 disease conditions that are particularly common in the tropics, often affecting poor communities, especially women and children, and causing devastating health, social and economic impacts on more than a billion people worldwide. The epidemiological features of neglected tropical diseases and their life cycles are linked to environments, disease vectors and animal reservoirs. Source: Jordan News Agency