Diseases of the Poor: the Socioeconomic Impact of Neglected Tropical Diseases

Physical and mental suffering caused by disease are known to anyone, but disease also has economic consequences to individuals, households and societies that not everybody might be aware of. Depending on the disease and on the context of the affected individuals, these consequences might lead to economic hardship and even to impoverishment. Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a group of communicable diseases associated with chronic, disabling and disfiguring morbidity, but also death, most of them affecting extremely poor populations. This thesis aimed at providing an improved understanding on the socioeconomic effect of NTDs on individuals and society, on the costs of a new diagnostic strategy to combat one of the NTDs, and on the impact of disease-related direct costs and productivity loss on the likelihood of impoverishment. This evidence can increase health policy dialogue and further encourage NTD prevention and control actions, assuring funders and policymakers that resources committed to these efforts are not only addressing poverty and the fundamental right to health, but are also a good investment

Socioeconomic Inequalities in Neglected Tropical Diseases: a Systematic Review

__Background:__ Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are generally assumed to be concentrated in poor populations, but evidence on this remains scattered. We describe within-country socioeconomic inequalities in nine NTDs listed in the London Declaration for intensified control and/or elimination: lymphatic filariasis (LF), onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH), trachoma, Chagas’ disease, human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), leprosy, and visceral leishmaniasis (VL). __Methodology:__ We conducted a systematic literature review, including publications between 2004–2013 found in Embase, Medline (OvidSP), Cochrane Central, Web of Science, Popline, Lilacs, and Scielo. We included publications in international peer-reviewed journals on studies concerning the top 20 countries in terms of the burden of the NTD under study. __Principal findings:__ We identified 5,516 publica