COVID-19 Sets Back Efforts to End Neglected Tropical Diseases

The World Health Organization, or WHO, says the COVID-19 pandemic has set back years of efforts to end neglected tropical diseases.

Neglected tropical diseases are a group of 20 diseases that affect 1.7 billion people, mainly from poor communities in tropical areas. Forty percent of the people affected¹ are in Africa.

These diseases are both life-threatening and physically² damaging. The WHO reports great progress has been made in the treatment of these diseases over the past 10 years. It says 42 countries around the world no longer have cases of at least one disease.

Mwelecele Malecela is director of the WHO's neglected tropical diseases department. She says she fears a lot of this good work could be undone³ because of the harmful effects of COVID-19.

She says the pandemic has led to disruptions and delays in services for neglected tropical diseases. She says mass treatment campaigns, observations of affected areas, and the transport and giving out of medicines have been stopped.

Malecela said, "All the efforts that have been done to control neglected tropical diseases, to bring about elimination⁴ in most of the affected countries, will be reversed if the focus is not kept." She added that observation and continued efforts in countries that are nearing zero cases are needed.

The WHO says that Guinea Worm disease, one of the neglected tropical diseases, is about to be eliminated. The organization says there were only 27 human cases reported in six African countries last year. In 1986, there were as many as 3.5 million human cases of the disease in 21 African and Asian countries.

Yaws is a long-term skin infection that can be eliminated in South Asia.

And Malecela says there are other success stories. They include possible elimination of Trachoma, a bacterial⁵ infection in the eye, in Morocco, Ghana and The Gambia. And the WHO has eliminated Lymphatic filariasis in seventeen countries, including Togo, Malawi and Yemen.

At the end of January, the WHO announced a plan to eliminate these neglected tropical diseases by 2030. Health officials consider the plan an important part of making sure countries strengthen their health systems after COVID-19.

Words in This Story

neglected – adj. not given enough attention or care

tropical – adj. of, relating to, occurring in, or used in the part of the world that is near the equator where the weather is very warm

disruption – n. the act or process of something being unable to continue in the normal way: an interruption of the normal progress or activity of (something)

elimination – n. the act or process of removing something or someone

focus – n. directed attention

1 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

2 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

3 undone   

a.未做完的，未完成的

参考例句：

• He left nothing undone that needed attention.所有需要注意的事他都注意到了。

4 elimination   

n.排除，消除，消灭

参考例句：

• Their elimination from the competition was a great surprise.他们在比赛中遭到淘汰是个很大的意外。
• I was eliminated from the 400 metres in the semi-finals.我在400米半决赛中被淘汰。

5 bacterial   

a.细菌的

参考例句：

• Bacterial reproduction is accelerated in weightless space. 在失重的空间，细菌繁殖加快了。
• Brain lesions can be caused by bacterial infections. 大脑损伤可能由细菌感染引起。