What is lymphatic filariasis?

Tafadzwa Banda is from the Shamva District in Bindura in Zimbabwe. She shared her story of how living with lymphatic filariasis changed her life.
36 million people are estimated to live with this chronic condition. 883 million people were at risk of infection in 2021.
Lymphatic filariasis - also known as Elephantiasis - is a disease that affects people in Asia, Africa, the Western Pacific and parts of the Caribbean and South America. Elephantiasis is a mosquito-transmitted disease that is caused by parasitic worms and which damages the human lymph system.
The disease can cause severe and extensive swelling of the lower limbs (lymphedema), which can be accompanied by painful episodes of fever. People with lymphedema are prone to bacterial infections that can lead to a mobility-limiting condition where the skin thickens and hardens.
Lymphatic filariasis affects the poorest communities, preventing individuals from living a productive working and social life, further trapping them in the cycle of poverty.
Lymphatic filariasis is part of a group of preventable and treatable diseases called neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) that affect about 1.65 billion people around the world. NTDs cause immeasurable suffering. They debilitate, disfigure and can be fatal. By most commonly affecting some of the most vulnerable people in the world - who often live in remote communities - NTDs create cycles of poverty and cost developing nations billions of dollars every year.
Since the London Declaration was signed in 2012 and partners committed to defeating neglected tropical diseases, the number of people receiving preventive chemotherapy for elephantiasis has increased considerably. 50 countries have eliminated at least one NTD. 761m people received treatment in 2020. Over 14 billion treatments donated by pharmaceutical industry between 2012 and 2020. We can beat NTDs in our lifetime.
Efforts to tackle NTDs are a global health success story, but the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is threatening hard-fought progress. Concerted action and financing for NTDs is needed if we are to reach the targets of the WHO 2030 NTD road map and safeguard the hard-won gains of the past decades. Ending NTDs is possible within our lifetime - now is the moment for leaders to invest and make commitments through signing the Kigali Declaration on NTDs. Funding to tackle NTDs is one of the best investments in global health. To prepare effectively for future pandemics, health systems need to be strong and responsive to the health needs of their populations. NTD programmes strengthen institutions and catalyse lasting transformations in health systems. The eradication of NTDs is a global public good whose benefits are universal.
To find out more about lymphatic filariasis please visit the Uniting to Combat NTDs website: unitingtocombatntds.org/en/ne...