This week at the #NNN2026 conference in Kigali, themed “People, Systems & Resilience: Adapting NTD Responses Through Holistic Approaches,” @RwandaNGOForum joined fellow NTD partners for a workshop, “Local Champions, Lasting Impact: Building Capacity for Equitable and Sustainable NTD Solutions.” We presented our work with the Rwanda Malaria & NTDs Youth Corps @MalariaNTDcorps in @BugeseraDistr and @RuhangoDistrict . Through a formal structure co-supported by @TheENDFund and ALMA and also working closely with @RBCRwanda and district leaders, young people are moving from beneficiaries to active implementers of NTD prevention. They lead community education, support mass drug administration and work alongside community health workers, opinion leaders and WASH structures to drive social and behaviour change. Together with partners from Ethiopia, Kenya and Zimbabwe, we explored approaches to reaching groups that are often left behind,including fishermen, marshland farmers, rural women, people with disabilities and out-of-school children. Our key takeaway: lasting impact is built when local champions own the work and NTD action is embedded in district plans and supported by sustainable domestic financing. #BeatNTDs #EndNTDs

🔴 #HAPPENINGNOW | Annual High-Level National Stakeholders Advocacy Meeting on Prevention and Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) and #WASH integration. Convened by the @RwandaNGOForum in collaboration with @RwandaHealth, @RBCRwanda, @RwandaLocalGov, and with support from @TheENDFund, this high-level platform brings together government ministries, district authorities, development partners, UN agencies, embassies, the private sector, CSOs, academia, media, and community health workers. Why it matters: ✅ Rwanda's Interruption of Transmission (#IoT) plan aims to reduce schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis prevalence below 2% in Bugesera and Ruhango by 2027. ✅The National #NTD Strategic Plan 2026-2030 targets domestic financing for at least 70% of the national #NTD program budget by 2030, yet financing remains largely donor-dependent. 👉 Follow the discussions live here: youtu.be/UM_8mGU47V0 #UniteActEliminate #EndTheNeglect #RoadToElimination #BeatNTDs #NTDs #WASH @Rwanda_Edu @RwandaInfra @Imbuto @RwandaEast @RwandaSouth @CityofKigali @unicefrw @Rwanda_Child @ImroRwanda @InterfaithRda @HDIRwanda @Sfrwanda1 @wasac_rwanda @WaterRwanda @cooperation_lu @UNDP_Rwanda @ughe_org @ReseauP29968 @GermanyinRwanda

Rwanda's NTD Journey: Progress, Challenges, and the Path to Elimination During today’s Annual High-Level National Stakeholder Advocacy Meeting on NTD Prevention and Control and WASH Integration, NSHIMIYIMANA Ladislas (@Ladi8n), Acting Director, NTDs and Other Parasitic Diseases Unit, @RBCRwanda, on behalf of the Malaria and Other Parasitic Diseases Division (MOPDD), had the privilege of presenting Rwanda's current NTD landscape. As we accelerate toward elimination targets, here's a snapshot of where we stand. In Rwanda, our priority NTDs include: 👉Soil-Transmitted Helminthiasis (STH), which represents 38.7% overall prevalence (2020), highest among adults at 46.1%, 👉Schistosomiasis (Bilharzia, which is endemic in 1,013 administrative cells across all 30 districts, 👉Scabies, 👉Podoconiosis representing ~6,000 cases nationwide and 13 treatment centres, 👉Leprosy with ~30 new cases annually, 👉Snakebite Envenomation, where >1,000 cases are reported annually, 👉Rabies, where ~3,000 dog bites are reported yearly, and 👉Onchocerciasis, which is endemic in Rusizi and Nyamasheke districts. Rwanda has achieved significant milestones: 📌SCH prevalence dropped from higher levels to 2.4% among school-aged children (2020), with 95.7% of surveyed villages now below the 10% prevalence threshold. 📌Heavy-intensity SCH infections stand at just 0.4%, well below WHO's <1% target 📌Elimination of Rhodesiense Human African Trypanosomiasis as a public health problem (April 2022) 📌Dracunculiasis (Guinea Worm) validated as absent since 2004 📌Trachoma Elimination Dossier currently under development The Interruption of Transmission (IoT) Plan The IoT strategy aims to reduce SCH and STH prevalence below 2% in @BugeseraDistr and @RuhangoDistrict by 2027. What's Next? ⚠️National Mapping of STH & Schistosomiasis (November 2026) ⚠️Snail control scale-up around Lake Kivu and Muhazi ⚠️Finalisation of Trachoma Elimination Dossier ⚠️Combination therapy (IVM + ALB) in high-burden districts ⚠️Onchocerciasis elimination: MDA, vector control, and surveillance. #UniteActEliminate #EndTheNeglect #RoadToElimination #BeatNTDs #NTDs #WASH @RwandaHealth @RwandaAgri @RwandaInfra @Rwanda_Edu @TheENDFund @GlobalFund @Imbuto @RwandaEast @RwandaSouth @RwandaWest @CityofKigali @unicefrw @Rwanda_Child @ImroRwanda @InterfaithRda @HDIRwanda @Sfrwanda1 @wasac_rwanda @WaterRwanda @cooperation_lu @UNDP_Rwanda @ughe_org @RubavuDistrict @RwamaganaDistr @ReseauP29968 @GermanyinRwanda @PSF_RWA @WateraidRwanda