THE RACE TO END NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES

Alison Krentel, PhD believes nobody should be left behind

Over 1.5 billion people in the world are affected by neglected tropical diseases, all requiring preventative or curative interventions. According to the World Health Organization, neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a variety of 21 conditions caused by viruses, bacteria, parasites, and other pathogens that often thrive in tropical and sub-tropical climates.

Alison Krentel, PhD, Senior Investigator with the Bruyère Health Research Institute and an Associate Professor at the University of Ottawa, wants a world free from these diseases and their devastating effects.

What makes these diseases “neglected”? Despite affecting a staggering number of the world’s population, they rarely receive the attention and resources they need in comparison to other major communicable diseases, like HIV/AIDS, malaria or tuberculosis. NTDs have serious health, social, and economic impacts for affected individuals and their communities.

“Neglected tropical diseases mostly affect people living in vulnerable circumstances and they perpetuate a cycle of stigma and poverty for these people,” says Krentel, whose research is dedicated to the equity and effectiveness of public health programs for infectious diseases across multiple countries. “We need to end the neglect and ensure everyone has access to treatment and care if we want to help the larger community.”

No one left behind

Part of Krentel’s work is focused on mass drug administration, a preventative health strategy where treatment is delivered to everyone in a population, whether they are infected or not. Participation in these programs is key to disease elimination, but reaching the critical mass needed can be difficult.

Despite reaching millions of people every year, some people still never receive treatment, holding back elimination efforts for whole communities. Research helps to uncover the factors behind never treatment, to find the unique reasons why people are missed and to identify how uptake can be improved.

“Our research helps us understand who is being missed in these treatments and why – whether it’s reassurance about side effects, being given clearer instructions, or just bridging the gap between health care providers, community health volunteers, and community members,” she shares. “This is a challenge we face in any public health intervention, so it’s important that we continue to search for who gets left behind and address how we can reach them.”

An end to neglected tropical diseases

Eliminating neglected tropical diseases is no easy feat. Collaboration is the cornerstone to successful public health strategies, especially on a global scale.

Krentel leads The Threads Lab, where implementation and pragmatic research contributes to the global movement in understanding the challenges and barriers hindering effective health programming. They work in partnership with community members, other researchers, and national health programs to design and test feasible solutions, creating an evidence base for scale-up and sustainability.

Her work with iCHORDS, a community of practice, helps connect over 500 people from more than 50 countries working at the intersection of NTDs and social and behavioural research, and providing a platform for communication, mentorship, and knowledge-sharing.

“We need people at all levels – government, community, researchers, care providers – to help us achieve a future free from NTDs,” says Krentel. “Our local efforts here at Bruyère Health Research Institute are having a global impact, and every time we lean into our ability to be a part of a larger community, we have a chance to be a part of creating a disease-free tomorrow.”