Assessing the cost-effectiveness of integrated case management of Neglected Tropical Diseases in Liberia.

BACKGROUND: In 2017, Liberia became one of the first countries in the African region to develop and implement a national strategy for integrated case management of Neglected Tropical Diseases (CM-NTDs), specifically Buruli ulcer, leprosy, lymphatic filariasis morbidities, and yaws. Implementing this plan moves the NTD program from many countries' fragmented (vertical) disease management. This study explores to what extent an integrated approach offers a cost-effective investment for national health systems. METHODS: This study is a mixed-method economic evaluation that explores the cost-effectiveness of the integrated CM-NTDs approach compared to the fragmented (vertical) disease management. Primary data were collected from two integrated intervention counties and two non-intervention counties to determine the relative cost-effectiveness of the integrated program model vs. fragmented (vertical) care. Data was sourced from the NTDs program annual budgets and financial reports for integrated CM-NTDs and Mass Drug Administration (MDA) to determine cost drivers and effectiveness. RESULTS: The total cost incurred by the integrated CM-NTD approach from 2017 to 2019 was US$ 789,856.30, with the highest percentage of costs for program staffing and motivation (41.8%), followed by operating costs (24.8%). In the two counties implementing fragmented (vertical) disease management, approximately US$ 325,000 was spent on the diagnosis of 84 persons and the treatment of twenty-four persons suffering from NTDs. While 2.5 times as much was spent in integrated counties, 9-10 times more patients were diagnosed and treated. CONCLUSIONS: The cost of a patient being diagnosed under the fragmented (vertical) implementation is five times higher than integrated CM-NTDs, and providing treatment is ten times as costly. Findings indicate that the integrated CM-NTDs strategy has achieved its primary objective of improved access to NTD services. The success of implementing an integrated CM-NTDs approach in Liberia, presented in this paper, demonstrates that NTD integration is a cost-minimizing solution.

Costs of mass drug administration for scabies in Fiji.

In 2019, the Murdoch Children's Research Institute in partnership with the Fiji Ministry of Health and Medical Services carried out an integrated mass drug administration (MDA) for the treatment of scabies and lymphatic filariasis in the Northern Division of Fiji (population estimate 131,914). We conducted a retrospective micro-costing exercise focused on the cost of scabies control in order to inform budgeting and policy decision making in an endemic setting. We collected detailed information on financial and economic costs incurred by both parties during the course of the MDA campaign (April 2018 to July 2019). We also conducted interviews with personnel involved in the financial administration of the MDA campaign. The economic cost of delivering two doses of ivermectin was US$4.88 per person. The cost of donated drugs accounted for 36.3% of total MDA costs. In this first large-scale MDA for the public health control of scabies, the estimated cost of delivering MDA per person for scabies was considerably more expensive than the costs reported for other neglected tropical diseases. The important cost drivers included the remuneration of health care workers who were extensively involved in the campaign, coverage of hard-to-reach, mainly rural populations and the two-dose regimen of ivermectin. These results highlight the importance of these cost determinants and can be used to plan current and future MDA programs.

Current trends in and future potential of crowdfunding to finance R&D of treatments for neglected tropical diseases.

A serious lack of funding exists for the research and development (R&D) of therapeutics, diagnostics, and preventive measures for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Hence, crowdfunding to finance R&D for NTDs has high importance, because it is a new and alternate source of capital. This study explores current trends of crowdfunding for R&D for NTDs. Our study showed that, although the number of crowdfunding campaigns for NTDs has been increasing since 2010, crowdfunding overall has not reached its full potential. Several factors contributing positively to the success of crowdfunding campaigns were identified. These and the promotion of the crowdfunding ecosystem could aid the unlocking of its potential as a complementary financing source to conventional funding practices of R&D for NTDs.

Efforts to mitigate the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic: potential entry points for neglected tropical diseases.

BACKGROUND: The damage inflicted by the coronavirus diseases 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic upon humanity is and will continue to be considerable. Unprecedented progress made in global health over the past 20 years has reverted and economic growth has already evaporated, giving rise to a global recession, the likes of which we may not have experienced since the Second World War. Our aim is to draw the attention of the neglected tropical disease (NTD) community towards some of the major emerging economic opportunities which are quickly appearing on the horizon as a result of COVID-19. MAIN TEXT: This scoping review relied on a literature search comprised of a sample of articles, statements, and press releases on initiatives aimed at mitigating the impact of COVID-19, while supporting economic recovery. Of note, the donor scenario and economic development agendas are highly dynamic and expected to change rapidly as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, as are donor and lender priorities. CONCLUSIONS: The NTD community, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), will need to work quickly, diligently, and in close collaboration with decision-makers and key stakeholders, across sectors at national and international level to secure its position. Doing so might enhance the odds of grasping potential opportunities to access some of the massive resources that are now available in the form of contributions from corporate foundations, trust funds, loans, debt relieve schemes, and other financial mechanisms, as part of the ongoing and future economic development agendas and public health priorities driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper should serve as a starting point for the NTD community to seek much needed financial support in order to sustain and revitalize control and elimination efforts pertaining to NTDs in LMICs.

A new Korean Research Investment for Global Health Technology (RIGHT) Fund to advance innovative neglected-disease technologies.

In 2018, the government of the Republic of Korea (ROK), South Korean life science companies, and a group of international funders led by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched a new and innovative funding agency to support neglected-disease research and development (R&D). The new venture is known as the Research Investment for Global Health Technology (RIGHT) Fund.

A cost-analysis of conducting population-based prevalence surveys for the validation of the elimination of trachoma as a public health problem in Amhara, Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Trachoma prevalence surveys, including impact surveys (TIS) and surveillance surveys (TSS), provide information to program managers on the impact of the SAFE (surgery, antibiotics, facial cleanliness, and environmental improvement) strategy and current burden of disease, and they provide a crucial component of the evidence base necessary for the validation of the elimination of trachoma as a public health problem. The prevalence surveys included in this analysis are multi-level cluster random surveys that provide population-based estimates for program planning. This study conducted an analysis of the cost of 8 rounds of TIS/TSS executed in Amhara, Ethiopia, 2012-2016, comprising 232,357 people examined over 1,828 clusters in 187 districts. METHODOLOGY AND FINDINGS: Cost data were collected retrospectively from accounting and procurement records from the implementing partner, The Carter Center, and coded by survey activity (i.e. training and field work) and input category (i.e. personnel, transportation, supplies, venue rental, and other). Estimates of staff time were obtained from The Carter Center Ethiopia. Data were analyzed by activity and input category. The mean total cost per cluster surveyed was $752 (standard deviation $101). Primary cost drivers were personnel (39.6%) and transportation (49.2%), with costs increasing in the last 3 rounds of TIS/TSS. CONCLUSION: Despite the considerable cost of conducting TIS and TSS, these surveys provide necessary information for program managers. Limited options are available to reduce the costs of TIS/TSS and gain economies of scale, as the surveys must be designed to achieve their designated sample size. However, surveys must also be designed in a way that is possible to be executed given the financial resources, personnel, and time required. Program managers can use these findings to improve estimates of the total cost of a survey and its components to ensure that sufficient resources are budgeted accordingly.

The process of building the priority of neglected tropical diseases: A global policy analysis.

The global burden attributed to Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) is 47.9 million Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs). These diseases predominantly affect disadvantaged populations. Priority for NTDs has grown in recent years, which is observed by their inclusion in the sustainable development goals (SDGs). This study analyzed the process that allowed these diseases to be included on the global health policy agenda. This global policy analysis used the Shiffman and Smith framework to understand the determinants of global health political priority for NTDs. The framework comprises four categories: actor power, ideas, political contexts, and issue characteristics. Global documents and World Health Assembly (WHA) resolutions were examined, key-informant interviews were conducted, and academic publications were reviewed to understand the four categories that comprise the framework. A total of 37 global policy documents, 15 WHA resolutions, and 38 academic publications were examined. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with individuals representing different sectors within the NTD community who have been involved in raising the priority of these diseases. This study found that several factors helped better position NTDs in the global health agenda. These include the leadership of actors that mobilized the global health community, the creation of a label combining these diseases as a group to represent a larger disease burden, the presence of mechanisms aligning the NTD community, and the agreement on ways to present the NTD burden and potential solutions. The process of building the priority of NTDs in the global health agenda shows that several determinants led to positive outcomes, but these diseases continue to have low priority at the global level which requires the implementation of actions to increase their global priority. These include sustaining the commitment of current actors and engaging new ones; increasing the attention given to diseases formerly categorized as "tool-deficient", including zoonotic NTDs; continue leveraging on policy windows and creating favorable policy moments to sustain commitment, as well as setting realistic targets. Findings from this study can help develop strategies to build the momentum and drive actions to implement the goals of the new Roadmap for NTDs in the pathway to universal health coverage (UHC) and sustainable development.

Neglected tropical diseases in Brazil: lack of correlation between disease burden, research funding and output.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the correlation between the burden of seven priority neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) included in the Brazilian National Agenda of Priorities in Health Research - tuberculosis, Chagas disease, leprosy, malaria, leishmaniasis, dengue and schistosomiasis - and their respective research funding and output. METHODS: This retrospective review obtained data on disease burden from the Global Burden of Disease Study and funding data from open access sources. Publications were retrieved from Scopus and SciELO, and characterised according to the type of research conducted. Correlation between funding, research output and burden was assessed by comparing the 'expected' and 'observed' values for funding and publications relative to the proportional burden for each disease. RESULTS: There was an emphasis in basic biomedical research (average 30% of publications) and a shortage of health policy and systems (average 7%) and social sciences research (average 3%). Research output and funding were poorly correlated with disease burden. Tuberculosis, Chagas disease and schistosomiasis accounted for more than 75% of total NTD-related DALYs, but accounted for only 34% of publications. Leprosy, leishmaniasis and malaria, together, received 49% of NTD-related funding despite being responsible for only 9% of DALYs. CONCLUSIONS: The analysis evidenced a lack of correlation between disease burden, research output and government funding for priority NTDs in Brazil. Our findings highlight the importance of monitoring health needs, research investments and outputs to inform policy and optimise the uptake of evidence for action, particularly in developing countries, where resources are scarce and the research capacity is limited. The results contribute to health policy by highlighting the need for improving coordination of scientific activities and public health needs for effective impact.

OBJECTIFS: Evaluer la corrélation entre la charge de sept maladies tropicales négligées (MTN) prioritaires incluses dans le programme national brésilien des priorités en matière de recherche en santé - tuberculose, maladie de Chagas, lèpre, paludisme, leishmaniose, dengue et schistosomiase - et leurs financements de recherche respectifs et les résultats. MÉTHODES: Cette revue rétrospective a obtenu des données sur la charge de morbidité de l'étude sur la Charge Globale des Maladies et des données de financement provenant de sources en accès publique. Les publications ont été extraites de Scopus et SciELO et caractérisées selon le type de recherche menée. La corrélation entre le financement, les résultats de la recherche et la charge a été évaluée en comparant les valeurs "attendues" et "observées" pour le financement et les publications par rapport à la charge proportionnel de chaque maladie. RÉSULTATS: L'accent a été mis sur la recherche biomédicale fondamentale (en moyenne 30% des publications) et une pénurie de politiques et de systèmes de santé (en moyenne 7%) et de recherche en sciences sociales (en moyenne 3%). Les résultats et le financement de la recherche étaient mal associés à la charge de morbidité. La tuberculose, la maladie de Chagas et la schistosomiase représentaient plus de 75% du total des EVCI, mais ne représentaient que 34% des publications. La lèpre, la leishmaniose et le paludisme, ensemble, ont reçu 49% des financements liés aux MTN alors qu'ils n'étaient responsables que de 9% des EVCI. CONCLUSIONS: L'analyse a mis en évidence une absence de corrélation entre la charge de morbidité, le résultat de la recherche et le financement de la plupart des MTN. Nos résultats soulignent l'importance du suivi des besoins en matière de santé, des investissements dans la recherche et des résultats pour éclairer les politiques et optimiser l'utilisation des données pour l'action, en particulier dans les pays en développement, où les ressources sont rares et la capacité de recherche est limitée. Les résultats contribuent à la politique de santé en soulignant la nécessité d'améliorer la coordination et la planification stratégique des activités scientifiques pour un impact efficace.

Cystic echinococcosis in the Eastern Mediterranean region: Neglected and prevailing!

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is distributed worldwide, extending from China to the Middle East and from Mediterranean countries to the sub-Saharan Africa and South America. According to WHO, one million people around the world are suffering from CE with an estimated burden of 183,573 DALYs. The annual monetary burden of the disease due to treatment costs and CE-related livestock losses has been estimated at US$ 3 billion. CE is endemic in all countries within the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (EMRO). The region, which includes most of the Middle East and North Africa, is one of the most ancient foci of the domestic cycle of CE and is recognized as one of the major hotspots of CE. There are 22 countries in the EMRO, where about 688 million people are living at risk of CE. In many EMRO countries, little is known about CE epidemiology and transmission. WHO included echinococcosis in a list of 17 neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and 12 neglected zoonotic diseases (NZDs). Accordingly, different regional offices of WHO organized several initiatives for CE control and prevention. WHO's Western Pacific regional office considered echinococcosis as one of the region's major health topics, and several preventive measures have been implemented in the American region with the support of Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in Argentina, Peru, Uruguay, and Chile. Although CE is endemic in all 22 EMRO countries, surprisingly, CE is absent from the health topics list of diseases and conditions in this region. Therefore, CE clearly requires further attention in the WHO EMRO agenda, and the need for elaboration of specific measures for CE control is becoming apparent in EMRO countries, where substantial collaborations among the member states and WHO EMRO is of paramount importance. Major topics of collaborative activities include training programs and health communication on different aspects of CE control, analysis of CE burden, national and international surveillance and disease registry systems, technical support to promote epidemiological studies for collecting baseline data, cost-benefit analysis of control interventions, and intersectoral cooperation among the agriculture, veterinary, medical, and health sectors.

Vaccination or mass drug administration against schistosomiasis: a hypothetical cost-effectiveness modelling comparison.

BACKGROUND: Schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease, targeted by the World Health Organization for reduction in morbidity by 2020. It is caused by parasitic flukes that spread through contamination of local water sources. Traditional control focuses on mass drug administration, which kills the majority of adult worms, targeted at school-aged children. However, these drugs do not confer long-term protection and there are concerns over the emergence of drug resistance. The development of a vaccine against schistosomiasis opens the potential for control methods that could generate long-lasting population-level immunity if they are cost-effective. METHODS: Using an individual-based transmission model, matched to epidemiological data, we compared the cost-effectiveness of a range of vaccination programmes against mass drug administration, across three transmission settings. Health benefit was measured by calculating the heavy-intensity infection years averted by each intervention, while vaccine costs were assessed against robust estimates for the costs of mass drug administration obtained from data. We also calculated a critical vaccination cost, a cost beyond which vaccination might not be economically favorable, by benchmarking the cost-effectiveness of potential vaccines against the cost-effectiveness of mass drug administration, and examined the effect of different vaccine protection durations. RESULTS: We found that sufficiently low-priced vaccines can be more cost-effective than traditional drugs in high prevalence settings, and can lead to a greater reduction in morbidity over shorter time-scales. MDA or vaccination programmes that target the whole community generate the most health benefits, but are generally less cost-effective than those targeting children, due to lower prevalence of schistosomiasis in adults. CONCLUSIONS: The ultimate cost-effectiveness of vaccination will be highly dependent on multiple vaccine characteristics, such as the efficacy, cost, safety and duration of protection, as well as the subset of population targeted for vaccination. However, our results indicate that if a vaccine could be developed with reasonable characteristics and for a sufficiently low cost, then vaccination programmes can be a highly cost-effective method of controlling schistosomiasis in high-transmission areas. The population-level immunity generated by vaccination will also inevitably improve the chances of interrupting transmission of the disease, which is the long-term epidemiological goal.

Snakebite in domestic animals: First global scoping review.

Snakebite is a Neglected Tropical Disease estimated to cause more than 100,000 human deaths and disable more than 400,000 victims each year. It primarily affects poor agricultural workers, farmers, and cattle herders living in rural areas of developing countries. It is thus an occupational disease. However, the impact of snakebite on these rural communities could be even higher if a One Health approach is taken to consider the direct impact on domestic animals and indirect impact on the livelihood of affected communities. To explore this hypothesis we developed the first scoping review to identify and characterize the global literature on snakebite in domestic animals. Three bibliographic databases (PubMed, Web of Science and Agricola) were searched using terms related to snake, snakebite and domestic animals for publications up to December 31st, 2016. Two independent reviewers screened publications applying inclusion/exclusion criteria to select relevant material. Relevant information was then extracted from the selected literature. The global literature on snakebite in domestic animals (n = 143 observational studies, reviews and letters) mainly represented North America, Europe and Australia (69%) with less information from Central and South America, Asia and Africa (31%). Observational studies (n = 119) mostly concerned pets (78%) and to a lesser extent livestock (22%). Thirty-four snake species were reported as responsible for bites in domestic animals. WHO's Medically Important Venomous Snakes were more frequently involved. The social-ecological determinants of snakebite were poorly documented but the reviewed literature suggested a strong seasonality and a diversity of habitat. Snakebite in animals caused neurotoxic, cytotoxic and hemotoxic envenomation syndromes similar to humans and death. Half of publications on envenomed livestock reported a fatality rate above 47%. There was no literature on the indirect impact of snakebite on livelihood caused by animal morbidity and mortality. The results of this scoping review suggest a high and under-reported burden in terms of mortality in animals and a potential economic impact of snakebite in terms of losses in livelihood of affected communities. However, major knowledge gaps with respect to impact of snakebite on livestock and livelihood were identified. Filling these gaps is necessary for a full understanding of the impact of snakebite and to raise scientific, political and public awareness on this neglected issue.

Chronic aspects of leprosy-neglected but important.

The chronic aspects of leprosy are discussed here. They are a consequence of the peripheral nerve damage that affects many patients during their lifetime with leprosy. The peripheral nerve damage leaves people unable to feel and with weakness in their hands and feet. They are at risk of damaging their hands and feet, causing the disabilities and deformities that characterise late leprosy. More than 200 000 new leprosy patients are diagnosed globally each year. Better data are needed from cohort studies to estimate the number of patients developing nerve damage and modelling studies are needed to estimate the number of patients who develop disabilities. For some of them, this will be a lifelong disability. Nerve damage is caused by inflammation in leprosy-affected nerves. Patients with nerve damage of <6-mo duration need treatment with steroids. About 66% of multibacillary patients will develop nerve damage. Plastic graded monofilaments can be used to detect nerve damage in leprosy and diabetic clinics. Assessing nerve damage and treating patients with steroids in leprosy programmes needs to be strengthened. The World Health Organization has a successful programme for supplying antibiotics for treating leprosy infection to national leprosy programmes. They should take responsibility for providing steroids to national programmes since this is a core part of the treatment for >66% of multibacillary patients. Patients need to be asked about neuropathic pain symptoms and treated if necessary. Treated leprosy patients are at risk of developing ulcers in their feet. Treatment and prevention needs to be improved through health education, providing protective footwear and patient empowerment.