To the Commonwealth Secretariat and Youth Forum
On the occasion of the 27th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held in Samoa this week, Youth Combating Neglected Tropical Diseases (YCNTDs), with the endorsement of the Commonwealth Youth Health Network (CYHN) and Uniting to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases (Uniting), humbly reach out to request your support in the prioritization of efforts to end Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) amongst this year’s meeting resolutions.
About YCNTDs: Established in 2020, YCNTDs is a global youth-focused and led initiative, designed to mainstream the participation of young people within the NTDs community across all its activities. Our work is centered around advocacy, training, and supporting stakeholders, including those affected by and those working to eradicate and eliminate NTDs. Furthermore, YCNTDs recognize that as the largest demographic in the world, young people are also the most at risk of being affected by NTDs. As a result, we believe young people represent a key constituent within the community- one that brings energy, innovative thinking, and talent to the fight against NTDs. Today, the YCNTDs community consists of over 1 200 Champions spread across 52 countries and has been served by eight Advisory Board members.
For our 2024-2025 advocacy period which commenced in September, YCNTDs have recruited six Youth Champions from the African continent to be supported as they lead our demand generation and resource mobilization efforts to #EndNTDs. The six Champions, who come from Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, Sudan, and Zimbabwe, are the young leaders behind this letter and call for the prioritization of NTDs on the 2024 CHOGM agenda.
NTDs and their significance on the CHOGM agenda: NTDs are a diverse group of 21 conditions that are mainly prevalent in tropical areas, where they affect more than 1 billion people who live in impoverished communities. NTDs are caused by a variety of pathogens including viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi, and toxins. These preventable and treatable diseases cause devastating health, social, and economic consequences to more than one billion people globally, the majority of whom are children and youth.
When looking at NTDs advocacy, the CHOGM platform holds historical significance for the YCNTDs community. In June 2022, H.E. Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda, officially launched the Kigali Declaration on NTDs at the Kigali Summit on Malaria and NTDs, held alongside the 26th CHOGM. This high-level political declaration mobilizes political will, community commitment, resources and action, and secures commitments needed to end the suffering caused by NTDs. YCNTDs has supported the Kigali Declaration from its launch—leading the youth consultations on the draft declaration, calling for the recognition of young people as key stakeholders, and now advocating for further endorsements and ownership by those countries who have not yet joined. The Declaration itself has already galvanized substantial commitments from donor governments, endemic country governments, pharmaceutical companies, and NGOs. At the time of the Kigali Summit, US$1.5 billion in financial commitments and 18 billion donated tablets / units of medicine were announced. Two years later as we reach the 27th CHOGM, this figure stands at US$1.7 billion financial commitments, 19 billion donated tablets / units of medicine, and 54 countries having eliminated at least one NTD- a notable demonstration of progress.
Calling on all CHOGM delegates to support ongoing efforts to #BeatNTDs: As the CHOGM delegation meets this week to deliberate on Our Resilient Common Future: Transforming our Commonwealth, we call on our peers and the Heads of Government who will be engaging to recognize NTDs as an ongoing threat to healthy and resilient communities and make firm commitments towards addressing them. In terms of the particular actions that can be taken, YCNTDs would like to draw attention to the Kigali Declaration on NTDs Status Report: 2022-2024 presented to the outgoing Chair-in-Office and celebrating the substantial progress made over the past two years on the path to end NTDs. The report also encourages further action for NTDs by growing endorsers of the Kigali Declaration, motivating existing endorsers to sustain or increase their commitment towards NTDs year-on-year, and urging partners and leaders worldwide to advocate for innovative funding mechanisms to provide robust, predictable, and long-term financing for NTDs.
As we get closer to the 2030 target of Ending the Neglect to Attain the Sustainable Development Goals as is outlined in the WHO 2021-2030 Road Map on Neglected Tropical Diseases, we must push for the prioritization of these preventable and treatable diseases and the mobilization of resources to back this up. To that end, we ask all attending delegates to endorse the Kigali Declaration and make their contributions to #BeatNTDs.
Together, we can unite, act, and eliminate NTDs for good. So let us rise to the occasion of building the futures we hope to live in through collaborative action, a unified voice, and good faith.
With Warm Regards
Youth Combating NTDs Champions
Enquiries: champions@youthcombatingntds.org
Resources:
- The Kigali Declaration on NTDs by Uniting to Combat NTDs
- The NTDS Advocacy Toolkit by Youth Combating NTDs