The seventeenth meeting of the Strategic and Technical Advisory Group for Neglected Tropical Diseases (STAG-NTD) was held at the headquarters of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland, on 11–12 October 2023. The theme of the meeting was “Accelerating towards 2030”. The statements and statistics presented in the report may not represent the views, policies and official statistics of the Organization. Through a pre-recorded video, Dr Jérôme Salomon (WHO Assistant Director-General, Universal Health Coverage, Communicable and Noncommunicable Diseases) welcomed participants to the meeting. He said that NTDs are one of the most formidable health challenges. They afflict one billion individuals in the most vulnerable populations, miring them in poverty and desolation. This meeting was a key opportunity to steer collective efforts towards transformative solutions and strengthen collaboration among governments, organizations and individuals. The elimination of NTDs underscores the indispensable role of robust and adaptable health systems on the way to universal health coverage. Control of NTDs is about human empowerment, children’s education and people’s participation in their communities. By eliminating NTDs, we foster a legacy of health and optimism, and exemplify the importance of global unity and collective action. Together, we can all catalyse change, ensure a world where nobody needlessly suffers from these afflictions and health is genuinely a universal right.

The Diagnostic Technical Advisory Group (DTAG) for the WHO Global NTD Programme was formed to foster a unified approach for identifying and prioritizing diagnostic needs, and to inform WHO strategies and guidance on NTD diagnostics. The first meeting of the DTAG was held at the Inter Parliamentary Union in Geneva, Switzerland, in October 2019. The second took place virtually in October 2020, the third in June 2021, the fourth in October 2021 and the fifth in November 2022. Several disease-specific and cross-cutting DTAG subgroups have been formed, resulting in the development of target product profiles (TPPs) for new diagnostics, some of which have been published, and some of which are in production. WHO/NTD convened the sixth DTAG meeting on 14 and 15 February 2024, with the following objectives across the end-to-end process of diagnostic development: -consider updates from disease-specific subgroups and TPP production; -discuss progress made by the cross-cutting and resource mobilization subgroups; -discuss the Expert Review Panel for Diagnostics (ERPD) NTD pilot project and lessons learnt; -discuss engagement of manufacturers and developers; -discuss laboratory capacity strengthening and standardization of molecular methods; -deliberate on the priority/focus areas of engagement for the DTAG for the next 2 years.

This document is the second in a series of global reports describing progress towards the 2030 targets set in Ending the neglect to attain the Sustainable Development Goals: a road map for neglected tropical diseases 2021–2030. It describes a wide range of activities, accomplishments and challenges across the portfolio of NTDs and across all six WHO regions. The report presents epidemiological and programmatic data for 2022, which were gathered, compiled and analysed in 2023. In some cases, 2023 data are available and presented; in other cases, less recent information is included, when 2022 data are not available. In addition, it presents the main facts or events that occurred in 2023. In line with the road map’s companion document Ending the neglect to attain the Sustainable Development Goals: a framework for monitoring and evaluating progress of the road map for neglected tropical diseases 2021−2030, the report includes quantitative information on the status of the overarching, cross-cutting and disease-specific indicators. This is followed by qualitative information on each of the three road map pillars and on regional and country progress. The conclusions of the report and way forward are further complemented by annexes on cross-cutting indicator 6, status of donated medicines for treatment of NTDs, articles on NTDs published in the Weekly Epidemiological Record, target product profiles published as of 31 December 2023 and the list of global NTD reports published by WHO so far.

A set of nine A-4 color plates with 118 photomicrographs illustrating the appearance and diagnostic features of all the common intestinal helminths and protozoan parasites known to infect humans. Produced in a robust plasticized format, the plates can be used as either a guide for laboratory and field workers in endemic countries, or a teaching aid for students and trainees. The aim is to help the microscopist ascertain the presence of parasites in feces, whether they be minute protozoan cysts or large helminth eggs, and to identify them correctly. With this goal in mind, the bench aids include pertinent laboratory instructions as well as high-quality images. The photomicrographs illustrate diagnostic features of each of the parasites as they appear in different preparations and at different magnifications. Each photomicrograph is produced with a measuring bar and accompanied by a short explanatory legend, which draws attention to distinctive features that help confirm diagnosis. Helminth eggs are illustrated in the first 36 photomicrographs, which show the diagnostic stages of the most common helminthes, including nematodes, cestodes, schistosomes, and other trematodes. The remaining photomicrographs offer advice on the more difficult task of detecting and identifying intestinal protozoan trophozoites and cysts. Relevant laboratory techniques are described on the reverse side of the plates. Additional laboratory aids include dichotomous keys for the identification of amoebic trophozoites trophozoites of intestinal flagellates, and cysts of amoebae and flagellates.

This volume is the first book-length treatment of model-based geostatistics. The text is expository, emphasizing statistical methods and applications rather than the underlying mathematical theory. Analyses of datasets from a range of scientific contexts feature prominently, and simulations are used to illustrate theoretical results. Readers can reproduce most of the computational results in the book by using the authors' software package, geoR, whose usage is illustrated in a computation section at the end of each chapter. The book assumes a working knowledge of classical and Bayesian methods of inference, linear models, and generalized linear models.

The report presents the first global and regional estimates of the burden of foodborne diseases. The large disease burden from food highlights the importance of food safety, particularly in Africa, South-East Asia and other regions. Despite the data gaps and limitations of these initial estimates, it is apparent that the global burden of foodborne diseases is considerable, and affects individuals of all ages, particularly children