Controlling neglected tropical and vectorborne diseases in South Africa Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and vectorborne diseases (VBDs) are significant and persistent public health challenges in South Africa, disproportionately affecting marginalised, rural, peri-urban and informal settlement populations. Their transmission is closely linked to poverty, inadequate housing, limited access to clean water and sanitation, environmental degradation, and constrained access to health services. These diseases contribute to chronic illness, disability, stigma, reduced educational attainment and lost productivity, reinforcing intergenerational cycles of poverty. South Africa’s Integrated National NTD Master Plan (2023 – 2027), the Malaria National Elimination Strategic Plan (2026 – 2030) and the National Vector Control Strategy (2023 – 2027) are aligned with the global technical frameworks of the World Health Organisation, and aim to accelerate elimination and prevention targets through integrated, multisectoral approaches. Endemic or high-priority NTDs in South Africa include schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminths, snakebite envenoming, leprosy, rabies, fasciolosis, echinococcosis, cysticercosis/ taeniasis and other parasitic infections that have localised, yet substantial, health and economic impacts. Schistosomiasis is prevalent in warmer, rural areas such as KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, parts of the Eastern Cape, Gauteng and North West provinces, with about 25 million people at risk and 4 million currently infected. Soil-transmitted helminths, including hookworm, roundworm and whipworm, contribute to malnutrition, anaemia, impaired cognitive development and poor academic performance in children living in areas with inadequate sanitation. By Ednah Baloyi of the Directorate of Malaria and Other Vector-Borne Diseases and Patrick Hlungwane of the Directorate of Neglected Tropical Diseases Department of Health, South Africa 7 ACTION TRACK 3 09
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