First World NTD Day

The first World NTD Day will be on 30 January 2020 – the same as World Leprosy Day in India (in the rest of the world it will be on 26 January 2020).

Announced on 19 November 2019 at the Reaching the Last Mile Forum, World NTD Day will be an annual opportunity to bring attention to the 1.6 billion people affected by NTDs.

Organised by Global Health Strategies, 30 January was chosen because of the date’s link with the London Declaration, which was signed in 2012. In 2020, they see World NTD Day as the start of a campaign that proceeds through the adoption of the NTD Roadmap at the World Health Assembly (May) and its promotion at the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kigali (June). The Kigali event is being promoted as the ‘Next London Declaration’ where governments and other leaders will be encouraged to make commitments in support of the Roadmap goals.

Though World Leprosy Day is on this date in India and a few days earlier worldwide, the leprosy community still has the opportunity to amplify its messaging around World Leprosy Day to new audiences. Ensuring that leprosy is actively included in whatever advocacy and support is built with governments can only positively reinforce the community’s messaging.

Organisations who would like to support World NTD Day have been invited to supply logos here.