The National Ministry of Health and MENTOR Initiative organization are set to establish a Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) response center in several counties of Western Bahr el Ghazal State.

This was disclosed by the state governor, Sarah Cleto Rial, who received a delegation led by Yak Yak Bol, the Director for NTDs at the national health ministry and its partners in Wau on Tuesday.

“Today I am glad to have received a joint delegation from the national Ministry of Health (MoH) and The MENTOR Initiative in my office at the state Council of Ministers,” Cleto said in a statement.

“The MENTOR Initiative, a successor of Christian Blind Mission (CBM), will implement NTDs projects in Raja, Jur River, and Wau counties of WBGS targeting more than (5,000) beneficiaries,” she added.

Governor Cleto commended the health ministry and partners for the intervention and assured them of her full support to ensure services are delivered to the people.

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a diverse group of conditions that are mainly prevalent in tropical areas, where they thrive among people living in impoverished communities.

They are caused by a variety of pathogens including viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi and toxins, and are responsible for devastating health, social and economic consequences.

These diseases cause devastating health, social and economic consequences to more than one billion people, according to the World Health Organization. They are referred to as ‘neglected’ because they are almost absent from the global health agenda.

In December 2023, the National Ministry of Health launched a five-year Master Plan 2023 in the fight against Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) in the country.