problems and described them to be unknown among many health professionals. one surprising finding of the 2016 global burden of disease study is that india has the most and worst cases of 11 of the 16 neglected tropical diseases it considered. india has the most cases of all neglected tropical diseases which occur in india. new cases of neglected tropical diseases in 2016 neglected tropical disease cases in india total cases globally india's percent of global total india's incidence rank ascariasis 222 million 799 million 28% 1 hookworm infection 102 million 451 million 23% 1 trichuriasis 68 million 435 million 16% 1 dengue fever* 53 million 101 million 53% 1 lymphatic filariasis 8.7 million 29.4 million 29% 1 trachoma† 1.8 million 3.3 million 53% 1 cysticercosis 819,538 2.7 million 31% 1 leprosy 187,730 523,245 36% 1 echinococcosis 119,320 973,662 12% 1 visceral leishmaniasis 13,530 30,067 45% 1 rabies* 4,370 13,340 33% 1 * – only new cases † – only cases causing visual impairment prevention elimination of as many of these diseases as possible is a goal. the government of india collaborates with the world health organization in making financial investments in health care for the purpose of reducing and eliminating neglected tropical diseases in india. in 2005, the indian health ministry, bangladeshi health ministry, and the nepali health ministry shared a memorandum of understanding to eliminate kala-azar in their shared region by 2015. a 2015 study reported that india's public health programs were reducing leprosy rates but not quickly enough to eliminate the disease from the region. in 2017 the indian government began participating in the world health organization's plan to eliminate 10 of the neglected tropical diseases. the government strategy was to reduce poverty, promote sanitation, do vector control, and provide public health education. society and culture the neglected tropical diseases are diseases of poverty and poverty reduction in society will reduce them. some people feel embarrassed to have a disease, but a disease is not anyone's fault. the government of india sometimes has organized health campaigns to teach about diseases so that people feel comfortable coming for medical help when they need it.