Opportunities & initiatives

Opportunities

The Mwele Malecela Mentorship Program for Women in NTDs

The Mwele Malecela Mentorship (MMM) Program for Women in Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) supports mid-career African women to become leaders and champions in NTD elimination at national and international levels.

Annual Meetings of National NTD Programme Managers in the WHO Africa Region

These meetings are more than just a congregation of minds; they are a rallying point for action. The challenges of funding and resource allocation, especially in the wake of the pandemic, have brought to the fore the urgency of advocacy, innovative resource mobilization, and the criticality of country ownership.

These gatherings serve as a platform for sharing best practices, technical updates, and fostering cross-sectoral collaborations, crucial for sustaining momentum and adapting to evolving public health landscapes.

Initiatives

ESPEN Reference Laboratory

Learn more about the ESPEN Reference Laboratory — supporting NTD elimination through regional diagnostics, training, quality assurance, and innovation.

Urogenital (Female and male) schistosomiasis (FGS & MGS): A neglected public health and gender equity challenge

Learn more about ESPEN’s role in addressing FGS–MGS through integration, support, coordination and new resources

NTD Elimination Dossiers

ESPEN supports countries in documenting and validating progress toward NTD elimination through the preparation of national elimination dossiers. These dossiers compile the evidence required by WHO to confirm that epidemiological thresholds have been achieved and that systems are in place to sustain those gains. By strengthening data systems, coordination, and country ownership, dossier preparation helps transform elimination milestones into formally validated public health achievements.