London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases

London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases
Name	London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases
Date signed	2012-01-30
Location signed	London
Parties	World Health Organization, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck & Co.
Subject	Public health, Neglected tropical diseases

London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases

The London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases was a 2012 public health initiative bringing together global health organizations, pharmaceutical companies, governments and philanthropic foundations to accelerate control, elimination and eradication of selected neglected tropical diseases. It built on prior international efforts such as the World Health Assembly resolutions and linked to campaigns by the World Health Organization, United Nations agencies and large-scale donors including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development.

Background

The Declaration emerged from discussions at meetings involving actors from World Health Organization, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Clinton Foundation and industry partners such as Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline and Merck & Co.. It followed global frameworks like the World Health Assembly resolution WHA54.19 on neglected tropical diseases and built on precedents set by the Onchocerciasis Control Programme and the Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis. The initiative intersected with efforts by national ministries of health in India, Nigeria, Brazil, Ethiopia and Bangladesh and was informed by technical guidance from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.

Goals and Commitments

The Declaration set time-bound targets to control, eliminate or eradicate ten diseases by 2020, aligning with strategic plans from World Health Organization and national strategic frameworks in countries like Mozambique and Ghana. Target diseases included onchocerciasis, lymphatic filariasis, trachoma, schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminthiases and leprosy—areas connected to prior campaigns such as the Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis and the Global Schistosomiasis Alliance. Commitments covered drug donations, mapping, mass drug administration, surveillance and research coordination with institutions including University of Oxford, Harvard University and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Signatories and Partners

Signatories encompassed pharmaceutical corporations (Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck & Co., Eisai Co., Ltd.), philanthropic entities (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome Trust), multilateral agencies (World Health Organization, United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund), bilateral donors (United States Agency for International Development, United Kingdom Department for International Development), and non-governmental organizations (Sightsavers, The Carter Center, Helen Keller International). National ministries from endemic countries including India, Brazil, Nigeria, Bangladesh and Ethiopia also pledged action alongside academic partners such as London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp.

Implementation and Programs

Implementation relied on mass drug administration programs modeled on the Onchocerciasis Control Programme and coordinated with surveillance systems designed by World Health Organization technical units. Delivery platforms used school-based deworming in collaboration with ministries in Kenya and Tanzania, community-directed treatment approaches as in the Onchocerciasis Control Programme in West Africa, and integrated neglected tropical disease mapping projects led by partnerships with World Health Organization and CDC Foundation. Research and development partnerships involved Novartis-sponsored trials, academic collaborations with Imperial College London and product development partnerships such as the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative.

Funding and Resource Mobilization

Financing combined pharmaceutical donations from corporations like GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer with grant funding from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, bilateral aid from Department for International Development and programmatic support from World Bank initiatives. Resource mobilization included commitments from private foundations (e.g., Wellcome Trust), multilateral instruments linked to United Nations development agendas, and in-kind contributions coordinated through networks such as Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria-adjacent mechanisms. Implementation also drew on domestic financing mobilized by ministries in endemic states such as India and Brazil.

Impact and Progress

By mid-decade, programs supported under the Declaration reported expanded mass drug administration, elimination validation for diseases like trachoma in countries that sought World Health Organization verification, reductions in prevalence documented in surveillance reports by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and programmatic milestones celebrated by partners such as Sightsavers and The Carter Center. Scientific outputs appeared in journals associated with The Lancet and PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, while implementation case studies were published by institutions including London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Progress included country-level validation of elimination targets and substantial donations of anthelmintic and antimicrobial commodities from industry partners.

Criticism and Challenges

Critiques addressed sustainability of donor-dependent models noted by analysts at Overseas Development Institute and Chatham House, concerns over health systems integration discussed in forums convened by World Health Organization and United Nations agencies, and equity issues raised by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and University of California, Berkeley. Operational challenges included supply chain constraints analyzed by UNICEF Supply Division and surveillance gaps highlighted by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and academic partners such as Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. Debates also involved intellectual property and drug access discussions involving World Trade Organization-related policy experts and philanthropic stakeholders like Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Category:Public health treaties