NTDs in the 2020s: An epic struggle of effective control tools versus the Anthropocene

[...]modern forces linked to the Anthropocene epic, including conflict, political instability, and climate change, may offset these public health gains. [...]progress in controlling NTDs in the coming decade may depend on our ability to overcome or circumvent the Anthropocene—our newest geological epoch caused by human activity—hurdles of the 2020s. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 600 million children were treated for soil-transmitted helminth infections in 2017 (the most recent year of WHO reporting), representing almost 70% of children requiring treatment, while 100 million children and adults were treated for schistosomiasis—almost one-half of those requiring treatment [3]. For LF, almost 500 million people received MDA in 2017, representing more than one-half of the global population requiring treatment [5]. [...]about 550 million people no longer require MDA because LF was eliminated in multiple areas [5]. Approximately 70% of the 200 million people requiring MDA for onchocerciasis now receive mass treatment, while 1.8 million people living in multiple countries no longer require treatment due to successful elimination efforts [6]. [...]through scale-up and integration of MDA, we can envision the eventual elimination of trachoma, LF, and onchocerciasis.