savings are estimated to be 26–47%. while more research must be done in order to understand how ntds and other diseases interact in both the vector and the human stages, safety assessments have so far produced positive results. many neglected tropical diseases and other prevalent diseases share common vectors, creating another opportunity for treatment and control integration. one such example of this is malaria and lymphatic filariasis. both diseases are transmitted by the same or related mosquito vectors. vector control, through the distribution of insecticide-treated nets, reduces human contact with a wide variety of disease vectors. integrated vector control may also alleviate pressure on mass drug administration, especially with respect to rapidly evolving drug resistance. combining vector control and mass drug administration deemphasizes both, making each less susceptible to resistance evolution. integration with wash programs further information: wash § health aspects water, sanitation, and hygiene (wash) interventions are essential in preventing many ntds, such as soil-transmitted helminthiasis. mass drug administrations alone will not protect people from re-infection. a more holistic and integrated approach to ntds and wash efforts will benefit both sectors along with the communities they are aiming to serve. this is especially true in areas that are endemic with more than one ntd. in august 2015, the world health organization unveiled a global strategy and action plan to integrate wash with other public health interventions in order to accelerate the elimination of ntds. the plan aims to intensify control or eliminate certain ntds in specific regions by 2020 and refers to the ntd "roadmap" milestones from 2012 that include, for example, eradication of dracunculiasis by 2015 and of yaws by 2020, elimination of trachoma and lymphatic filariasis as public health problems by 2020, and intensified control of dengue, schistosomiasis, and soil-transmitted helminthiases. closer collaboration between wash and ntd programmes can lead to synergies. they can be achieved through collaborative planning, delivery, and evaluation of programmes, strengthening and sharing of evidence, and using monitoring tools to improve the equity of health services. reasons why wash plays an important role in ntd prevention and patient care include: ntds affect more than one billion people in 149 countries. they occur mainly in regions with a lack of basic sanitation. about 2.4 billion people worldwide do not have adequate sanitation facilities. 663 million do not have access to improved drinking water sources. one leading cause of preventable blindness is trachoma. the bacterial infection is transmitted through contact with eye-seeking flies, fingers, and fomites. prevention components are facial cleanliness, which requires water for face washing, and environmental improvement, which includes safe disposal of excreta to reduce fly populations. improved sanitation prevents soil-transmitted helminthiases. it impedes fecal pathogens such as intestinal worm eggs from contaminating the environment and infecting people through contaminated food, water, dirty hands, and direct skin contact with the soil. improved sanitation and water management can contribute to reducing the proliferation of mosquitoes that transmit diseases, such as lymphatic filariasis, dengue, and chikungunya. breeding of the culex mosquito which transmits filarial parasites is facilitated through poorly constructed latrines. breeding of the aedes aegypti and aedes albopictus mosquitoes which transmit dengue and chikungunya can be prevented through safe storage of water. feces and urine that contain worm eggs can contaminate surface water and lead to transmission of schistosomiasis. this can be prevented through improved sanitation. not only human but also animal (cow, buffalo) urine or feces can transmit some schistosome species. therefore, it is important to protect freshwater from animals and animal waste. treatment of many ntds require clean water and hygienic conditions for healthcare facilities and households. for guinea worm, buruli ulcer, or cutaneous leishmaniasis, wound management is needed to speed up healing and reduce disability. lymphatic filariasis causes chronic disabilities. people who have this disease need to maintain rigorous personal hygiene with water and soap to prevent secondary infections. ntds that lead to permanent disabilities make tasks such as carrying water long distances or accessing toilets difficult. however, people affected by these diseases often face stigma and can be excluded from accessing water and sanitation facilities. this increases their risk of poverty and severe illness. clean water and soap are essential for these groups to maintain personal hygiene and dignity. therefore, additional efforts to reduce stigma and exclusion are needed. in this manner, wash can improve the quality of life of people affected by ntds. in a meta-analysis, safe water was associated with significantly reduced odds of schistosoma infection, and adequate sanitation was associated with significantly lower odds of infection with both s. mansoni and s. haematobium. a systematic review and meta-analysis showed that better hygiene in children is associated with lower odds of trachoma. access to sanitation was associated with 15 percent lower odds of active trachoma and 33 percent lower odds of c. trachomatis infection of the eyes. another systematic review and meta-analysis found a correlation between wash access and practices and lower odds of soil-transmitted helminthiasis infections by 33 to 77 percent. persons who washed their hands after defecating were less than half as likely to be infected as those who did not. traditionally, preventive chemotherapy is used as a measure of control, although this measure does not stop the transmission cycle and cannot prevent reinfection. in contrast, improved sanitation can. pharmaceutical market biotechnology companies in the developing world have targeted neglected tropical diseases due to a need to improve global health. mass drug administration is considered a possible method for eradication, especially for lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, and trachoma, although drug resistance is a potential problem. according to fenwick, pfizer donated 70 million doses of drugs in 2011 to eliminate trachoma through the international trachoma initiative. merck has helped the african programme for the control of onchocerciasis (apoc) and oncho elimination programme for the americas to greatly diminish the effect of onchocerciasis by donating ivermectin. merck kgaa pledged to give 200 million tablets of praziquantel, the only cure for schistosomiasis, over 10 years. glaxosmithkline has donated two billion tablets of medicine for lymphatic filariasis and pledged 400 million deworming tablets per year for five years in 2010. johnson & johnson has pledged 200 million deworming tablets per year. novartis has pledged leprosy treatment, and eisai pledged two billion tablets to help treat lymphatic filariasis. ngo initiatives non-governmental organizations that focus exclusively on ntds include the schistosomiasis control initiative, deworm the world, and the end fund. despite under-funding, many neglected diseases are cost-effective to treat and prevent. the cost of treating a child for infection of soil-transmitted helminths and schistosomes (some of the main causes of neglected diseases) is less than us$0.50 per year when administered as part of school-based mass deworming by deworm the world. this programme is recommended by giving what we can and the copenhagen consensus centre as one of the most efficient and cost-effective solutions. the efforts of the schistosomiasis control initiative to combat neglected diseases include the use of rapid-impact packages: supplying schools with packages including four or five drugs, and training teachers in how to administer them. health action international based in amsterdam worked with the who to get snakebite envenoming on the list of neglected tropical diseases. public-private initiatives an alternative to the profit-driven drug development model emerged in 2000 to address the needs of these neglected patients. product development partnerships (pdps) aim at implementing and accelerating the research and development (r&d) of safe and effective health tools (diagnostics, vaccines, drugs) to combat neglected diseases. drugs for neglected disease initiative (dndi) is one of these pdps that has already developed new treatments for ntds. the sabin vaccine institute, founded in 1993, works to address the issues of vaccine-preventable diseases as well as ntds. they run three main programs: sabin vaccine development, global network for neglected tropical diseases, and vaccine advocacy and education. their product development partnership affiliates them with the texas children's hospital as well as the baylor college of medicine. their major campaign, end7, aims to end seven of the most common ntds (elephantiasis, river blindness, snail fever, trachoma, roundworm, whipworm, and hookworm) by 2020. through end7, college campuses undertake fundraising and educational initiatives for the broader goals of the campaign. wipo re:search was established in 2011 by the world intellectual property organization in collaboration with bio ventures for global health (bvgh) and with the active participation of leading pharmaceutical companies and other private and public sector research organizations. it allows organizations to share their intellectual property, compounds, expertise, facilities, and know-how royalty-free with qualified researchers worldwide working on new solutions for ntds, malaria, and tuberculosis. in 2013, the government of japan, five japanese pharmaceutical companies, the bill and melinda gates foundation, and the undp established a new public–private partnership, the global health innovative technology fund. they pledged over us$100 million to the fund over five years, to be awarded as grants to r&d partnerships across sectors in japan and elsewhere, working to develop new drugs and vaccines for 17 neglected diseases, in addition to hiv, malaria, and tuberculosis. affordability of the resulting drugs and vaccines is one of the key criteria for grant awards. london declaration on neglected tropical diseases the london declaration on neglected tropical diseases, initiated by the bill and melinda gates foundation launched on 30 january 2012 in london. inspired by the who roadmap to eradicate or prevent transmission for neglected tropical diseases, it aimed to eradicate or reduce ntds by the year 2020. it was endorsed by governments and organisations around the world, as well as major pharmaceutical companies including abbott, astrazeneca, bayer healthcare pharmaceuticals, becton dickinson, bristol-myers squibb, eisai, gilead sciences, glaxosmithkline, johnson & johnson, merck kgaa, merck sharp & dohme, msd, novartis, pfizer, and sanofi. it was not a complete success, but millions of lives were saved, the burden of the infections was reduced, and 42 countries eliminated at least one disease. to commemorate the programme, who adopted 30 january as the world ntd day. kigali declaration on neglected tropical diseases the kigali declaration on neglected tropical diseases was launched at the kigali summit on malaria and neglected tropical diseases (ntds) hosted by the government of rwanda at its capital city kigali on 23 june 2022. it was signed as a support for the world health organization's 2021–30 road map for ntds and the target of sustainable development goal 3 to end ntd epidemics; and as a follow-up project of the london declaration . supported by who, governments of the commonwealth of nations pledged the endorsement, along with commitments from gsk plc, novartis, and pfizer. others an open-access journal dedicated to neglected tropical diseases called plos neglected tropical diseases first began publication in 2007. one of the first large-scale initiatives to address ntds came from a collaboration between kenneth warren and the rockefeller foundation. ken warren is regarded as a pioneer in neglected tropical disease research. the great neglected tropical diseases network was a consortium of scientists from all over the world, hand-picked by warren, working to expand the research base in neglected diseases. many of the scientists that he recruited had not been involved in ntd research before. the network ran from 1978 to 1988. warren's vision was to establish units within biological labs across the world, dedicated to r&d. by forming a critical mass of scientists in ntd research, he hoped to attract new students into the field. the interdisciplinary group met annually to update the community on research progress. much of the work done by this group focused on understanding the mechanisms behind infection. at these informally structured meetings, research partnerships were formed. warren himself encouraged these partnerships, especially if they bridged the divide between developed and developing nations. through the great neglected tropical disease network, a great number of scientists were brought into the field of parasitology. epidemiology