Neglected Tropical Diseases Are Finally Being Seen as a Human Rights Issue

Human Rights Research Center
2 days ago
3 min read

July 20, 2026

HRRC recognises that neglected tropical diseases are closely linked to poverty, discrimination and social exclusion, and that meaningful progress in protecting the right to health depends on addressing the structural inequalities that drive vulnerability and leave affected communities behind. We applaud the United Nations and its member states in adopting the resolution.

The United Nations Human Rights Council has adopted its first-ever resolution dedicated to all Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), marking an important step in recognising that they are not only a public health challenge but also a human rights issue.

Adopted by consensus during the Council's 62nd session in Geneva on July 7, Resolution 62/21 on Human Rights and Neglected Tropical Diseases was led by Malawi, Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Kenya, Morocco and Tanzania, where the burden of NTDs remains high. In doing so, the Human Rights Council recognised that these diseases are closely linked to inequality, discrimination and social exclusion, and that addressing them requires action beyond healthcare alone.

The resolution also highlights that tackling NTDs is essential to protecting the right to health and ensuring that no one is excluded from prevention, treatment and care.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than one billion people worldwide are affected by NTDs, with approximately 1.495 billion people requiring interventions against them in 2023. These diseases include conditions such as elephantiasis, bilharzia, trachoma, leprosy, river blindness, sleeping sickness and dengue. Found mainly in warm and humid regions, NTDs disproportionately affect people living in poverty, where limited access to safe water, sanitation, healthcare, decent housing and education increases vulnerability.

The resolution also acknowledges that women and girls, persons with disabilities, and people living in remote, underserved communities are often the most affected. It further highlights how climate change, conflict and displacement increase people's vulnerability to NTDs and make it more difficult to access prevention, treatment and care.

Importantly, the resolution moves beyond viewing NTDs as a health issue alone. It calls on states to adopt a human rights-based approach that tackles the underlying drivers of vulnerability, including discrimination, stigma and social exclusion. Governments are urged to ensure that policies and programmes are guided by equality, participation, accountability and non-discrimination so that no one is left behind.

The resolution also requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a comprehensive report by 2027 identifying practical measures that states can adopt to protect the rights of people affected by NTDs and strengthen national, regional and global responses.

As countries work toward achieving Sustainable Development Goal 3 and ending NTD epidemics by 2030, Resolution 62/21 reinforces the need for rights-based approaches that ensure affected communities are not left behind.

Glossary

Accountability – The quality or state of being accountable.
Adopt – Formally accept, approve and begin implementing a new set of rules or guidelines.
Consensus – A general agreement among a group of people.
Discrimination - Unfair treatment of a person, racial group, or minority
Disproportionately - In a way that is too large or too small in relation to something else.
Displacement – The situation in which people are forced to leave the place where they normally live.
Diverse – Having variety.
Inequality - Unequal distribution of resources, opportunities, and privileges among individuals or groups within a society.
Intervention – Intentional action to change a situation, with the aim of improving it or preventing it from getting worse.
Non-discrimination - Principle of treating individuals equally, without bias based on characteristics such as race, gender, religion, or disability.
Pathogens – Any small organism such as a virus or a bacterium that can cause disease.
Public health – The science of protecting and improving the health of people and their communities.
Sanitation - The provision of facilities and services for the safe disposal of human urine and faeces.
Social exclusion - Process by which individuals or groups are systematically marginalized and denied access to essential resources, opportunities, and social networks.
Stigma - A set of negative and unfair beliefs that a society or group of people have about something.
Underserved communities - Groups that have limited or no access to resources.
Vulnerability – The quality of being vulnerable.

References

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Neglected Tropical Diseases Are Finally Being Seen as a Human Rights Issue

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