ETV Bharat / healthIndia Leads South East Asia's NTD Elimination Drive, Yet Dengue And Leprosy Cases Surge: ReportA Municipal worker fumigates during a fogging drive to prevent dengue and malaria cases, in Udhampur on September 12, 2026.
India led the regional achievements with three eliminations, while Bangladesh eliminated two diseases and six other countries eliminated one disease each.
India's major milestone was eliminating trachoma as a public health problem in 2024.
The country also achieved the target for eliminating visceral leishmaniasis, commonly known as kala-azar, as a public health problem in all endemic blocks by 2023.
(IANS) While Nepal achieved the visceral leishmaniasis elimination target in 2024, Bangladesh became the first country globally to receive WHO validation for eliminating the disease as a public health problem in 2023.
ETV Bharat / health
India Leads South East Asia's NTD Elimination Drive, Yet Dengue And Leprosy Cases Surge: Report
A Municipal worker fumigates during a fogging drive to prevent dengue and malaria cases, in Udhampur on September 12, 2026. ( ANI )
New Delhi: India has emerged as a major contributor to the South-East Asia region's progress in tackling neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), eliminating three diseases during the 2021–2025 period, even as the World Health Organization (WHO) has cautioned that rising dengue and leprosy cases, persistent transmission of lymphatic filariasis and inadequate financing threaten the region's ambition of eliminating several NTDs by 2030.
According to the WHO’s mid-term evaluation of its global NTD road map for 2021–2030, eight countries in the South-East Asia region had eliminated at least one neglected tropical disease by December 2025. India led the regional achievements with three eliminations, while Bangladesh eliminated two diseases and six other countries eliminated one disease each.
India's major milestone was eliminating trachoma as a public health problem in 2024. The country also achieved the target for eliminating visceral leishmaniasis, commonly known as kala-azar, as a public health problem in all endemic blocks by 2023. Participants dressed in costumes take part in a dengue awareness rally organised by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), in Kolkata on Friday, January 16, 2026. (IANS) While Nepal achieved the visceral leishmaniasis elimination target in 2024, Bangladesh became the first country globally to receive WHO validation for eliminating the disease as a public health problem in 2023. WHO’s regional assessment highlights that the combined efforts of mass drug administration (MDA), school-based deworming programmes, disease-specific treatment and strengthened surveillance have substantially reduced the population requiring interventions against NTDs. Of the 21 NTDs prioritised by WHO globally, 16 are present in the South-East Asia Region, with all its 10 member countries affected by at least one disease. The number of people requiring NTD interventions in the region declined from a peak of 1.024 billion in 2011 to 647 million in 2024. This represents a 36 percent reduction from the 2010 baseline and a 24 percent decline from 2020. However, "the region must bring this number down to approximately 102 million by 2030 to achieve the global target of a 90 percent reduction from the 2010 baseline," the global health watchdog stated.
Lymphatic filariasis remains a major concern Despite substantial progress, lymphatic filariasis remains one of the most significant elimination challenges, particularly for India, Myanmar and Nepal.
