{
  "id": 641149,
  "title": "Rwanda: Rwanda Rolls Out Five-Year Strategy to Fight NCDs",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/12/rwanda-rwanda-rolls-out-five-year-strategy-to-fight-ncds",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-12T07:16:36.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "AllAfrica",
    "slug": "allafrica",
    "url": "https://allafrica.com/stories/202608120039.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Rwanda announces a five-year plan to combat neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) by 2030. The strategy targets the interruption of leprosy and onchocerciasis transmission, with an estimated cost of Rwf13.79 billion. The plan aims to reduce diseases such as schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths to below one percent in selected areas, and gradually shift from mass drug administration to routine deworming. Rwanda has already made progress, with intestinal worm prevalence falling from 45 percent in 2014 to below 20 percent. However, transmission of river blindness persists in Rusizi and Nyamasheke districts, and leprosy remains endemic in four districts. The government plans to achieve zero new locally acquired leprosy cases among children under five for five consecutive years by 2030. Other neglected conditions will see case detection and clinical care integrated into routine systems and expanded reporting.",
  "summary": "[New Times] Rwanda is targeting the interruption of transmission of leprosy and onchocerciasis (river blindness) by 2030, under a new five-year plan to tackle neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).",
  "key_points": [
    "Rwanda launches five-year plan to combat NTDs by 2030",
    "Strategy targets leprosy, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, and soil-transmitted helminths",
    "Government aims for zero new locally acquired leprosy cases in children under five by 2030"
  ],
  "editors_take": "Rwanda's five-year plan signifies a shift from mass treatment to targeted interventions, aiming to interrupt transmission of certain diseases and integrate case detection into routine healthcare systems.",
  "illustration": "https://urgent.news/ill/641149.png",
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "AllAfrica Health",
        "title": "Rwanda: Rwanda Rolls Out Five-Year Strategy to Fight NCDs",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/12/rwanda-rwanda-rolls-out-five-year-strategy-to-fight-ncds-644144",
        "published": "2026-08-12T07:16:36.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}