In a landmark moment for global health and human rights, the United Nations Human Rights Council today adopted the first-ever resolution that formally recognizes the profound and inseparable links between human rights and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).

The historic resolution was led by the Republic of Malawi, alongside a core group of African Member States including Burkina Faso, Kenya, Tanzania, The Gambia and Morocco. It marks the first time NTDs have been formally addressed through a dedicated Human Rights Council resolution – elevating these diseases beyond the health sector and recognizing them as issues of dignity, equity, inclusion, and justice. The adoption represents a major milestone in the global fight against NTDs and a powerful acknowledgment that the more than one billion people affected by these diseases can no longer be left behind.

NTDs are both caused by and drive human rights challenges. Poverty, unsafe water, inadequate housing, poor sanitation, discrimination, and limited access to healthcare create the conditions in which NTDs thrive. In turn, these diseases can cause disability, disfigurement, stigma, exclusion from education and employment, lost income, and preventable death – trapping individuals and communities in cycles of inequality and marginalization.

By adopting this resolution, the UN Human Rights Council has formally recognized that advancing human rights and ending NTDs are deeply interconnected goals.The resolution is expected to help elevate NTDs within global and national policy agendas, strengthen accountability, reinforce the links between health and human rights, and mobilize greater political will and resources to accelerate progress towards elimination.

The adoption comes amid growing global momentum behind NTD elimination. To date, 63 countries worldwide have eliminated at least one neglected tropical disease, demonstrating that sustained political commitment, investment, and partnership can drive transformative progress.

Africa continues to lead global efforts to end these diseases. Malawi itself eliminated trachoma as a public health problem in 2022, alongside previous elimination achievements for lymphatic filariasis and leprosy as public health concerns, while continuing efforts to eliminate additional NTDs by 2030.

Said H.E. Madalitso Chidumu Baloyi, Minister of Health, Republic of Malawi, “Today marks a historic victory for the millions of people affected by neglected tropical diseases around the world. Africa has borne a disproportionate burden of these diseases for generations, and African countries have also been leaders in the fight to eliminate them – driving innovation, progress, and political commitment. Malawi is proud to have helped lead this landmark resolution alongside our fellow African Member States. By formally recognizing the links between NTDs and human rights, the Human Rights Council has affirmed that no person should be denied dignity, opportunity, health, or inclusion because of a preventable and treatable disease.”

Said Stuart Halford, Director of Advocacy and Resource Mobilisation, Uniting to Combat NTDs, "We commend Malawi and the other African Member States whose leadership made this historic resolution possible. Africa has also driven some of the world's greatest progress against NTDs, demonstrating what is possible through political commitment, partnership, and sustained investment. By recognizing NTDs as both a health and human rights issue, the Human Rights Council has taken an important step towards accelerating progress against these diseases and improving the lives and rights of millions of people worldwide. We now have an opportunity to build on this momentum and ensure that human rights considerations are fully integrated into efforts to end NTDs once and for all."

Said Juan Gamboa, CEO, Anesvad Foundation: “We celebrate the approval of this resolution, particularly at this critical moment in a global fight against NTDs. The elimination of NTDs is a fundamental right of millions of people. Political will and financial commitments are needed to ensure that we can eliminate NTDs during our generation.  We note this significant step and recognize the journey ahead.  Malawi's exemplary leadership through this resolution will help shape national policies, legal frameworks and adequate budget allocations to ensure the elimination of NTDs globally.”

Advocates say the resolution has the potential to catalyze stronger cross-sector action on the underlying conditions that allow NTDs to persist, including inadequate healthcare access, unsafe water and sanitation, poor housing, educational inequities, and stigma and discrimination.

Supporters also describe the resolution as a critical shift in how the world understands NTDs – not only as diseases requiring medical intervention, but as barriers to equality, opportunity, and the realization of fundamental human rights.

The adoption sends a strong signal that ending NTDs is not only a public health imperative, but also a human rights imperative. A key ask of the resolution is for Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to conduct a consultation analysing the links between human rights and NTDs and providing recommendations for strengthening the integration of human rights considerations into national and global responses to NTDs across the United Nations system. While the resolution marks a historic milestone, its true impact will be measured by the actions that follow. The forthcoming OHCHR consultation and report will lay the foundation for a stronger human rights framework on NTDs, providing recommendations to governments, UN agencies, and partners that can help shape a new era of more equitable, accountable, and effective action against these diseases.