The World Health Organization has released a groundbreaking Essential Care Package (ECP) designed to integrate mental health support and stigma reduction into neglected tropical disease (NTD) programs for the first time. The package responds to evidence showing that people affected by NTDs experience higher rates of depression, anxiety, distress, and suicidal behaviors, caused not only by illness but also by discrimination, social exclusion, and stigma.
The ECP provides governments, health leaders, and frontline services with practical guidance to embed mental health care across the prevention, identification, assessment, management, and follow-up of NTDs. With over one billion people worldwide affected by these diseases, the WHO emphasizes that eliminating NTDs is only possible if mental health and stigma are treated as core components of care rather than optional add-ons.
The package outlines clear roles for patients, communities, health workers, and system leaders. People living with NTDs are supported to recognize distress, access peer support, and understand their rights to healthcare, employment, and social participation. Families and communities are highlighted as vital for early recognition of mental health needs and for challenging stigmatizing attitudes.
Frontline health workers are encouraged to provide routine, compassionate, person-centered care. The ECP recommends mental health assessment and support be embedded within NTD services, including psychoeducation, screening, and referral pathways to peer networks, physical healthcare, and specialist mental health services. Training for health workers also aims to reduce stigma and ensure comorbid mental health needs are properly recorded.
At the system level, the ECP stresses coordination between NTD and mental health programs to avoid parallel services. Community-based supports, integration of mental health indicators into NTD data, and collaborative care models, including embedding mental health specialists within NTD services, are recommended to improve care feasibility in resource-constrained settings.
Developed in partnership with NGOs, academia, and organizations representing people affected by NTDs, the ECP is intended to strengthen treatment adherence, improve wellbeing, and accelerate progress toward NTD elimination and universal health coverage. The initiative reflects WHO’s commitment to addressing the full scope of physical, mental, and social impacts of neglected tropical diseases.
