[2] Supported by WHO, governments of the Commonwealth of Nations pledged the endorsement, along with commitments from pharmaceutical companies including GSK plc, Novartis, Pfizer, Sightsavers and the Wellcome Trust.
[8] For achieving the goals of the road map, the London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases, spearheaded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, was launched on 30 January 2012.
[14] In November 2020, the 73rd World Health Assembly announced the WHO's 2021–2030 road map for NTDs, to prevent, control, eliminate and eradicate these diseases.
The Uniting to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases launched the Kigali Declaration as a "100% Committed" (the name of the campaign[17]) political movement on 27 January 2022.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is pleased to join many of our long-standing partners in welcoming the new, country-led Kigali Declaration to build on this incredible progress.
Gautam Biswas, acting Director, WHO Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases, stated: "Progress achieved over the last decade is the result of the excellent public-private partnership with countries endemic for NTDs and the unfaltering support of partners who endorsed the London Declaration in 2012.
[21] They agreed that the declaration would be launched as a global project at the Kigali Summit on Malaria and NTDs, to be held alongside the 26th Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Rwanda.
[23] The declaration aims to create the "world's largest public-private partnership"[1] to reduce the number of infection by 90% and eliminate at least one NTD in 100 countries by 2030, as stated in the WHO road map.
[2] It also aims to "ensure that people affected by NTDs – particularly women and girls, persons with disabilities, and minority and underrepresented groups – are at the center of NTD programs and decision-making processes."