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

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 is a companion document to the road map for neglected tropical diseases 2021−2030. The road map was endorsed by the Seventy-third World Health Assembly in November 2020, calling on Member States to work towards the targets for 2030. The need for such a companion document had emerged during the consultative process for the new road map. Monitoring and evaluation are recognized as one of the four commonest programmatic gaps across the diseases, warranting accelerated programmatic action to reach the goals set in the road map. This companion document was also developed through an extensive consultative process under the guidance of the Strategic and Technical Advisory Group for Neglected Tropical Disease’s Working Group on Monitoring, Evaluation and Research. It embodies the same shifts and principles of focus on impact, integration and country ownership in monitoring and evaluating progress against neglected tropical diseases. This framework is a call to action to countries and implementing partners with fully defined operational impact indicators for greater accountability and action, starting at the country level. It aims to provide guidance on mainstreaming the monitoring and evaluation of neglected tropical diseases within health information systems and emphasizes that monitoring and evaluation are integral components of interventions against neglected tropical diseases. The framework highlights the importance of standardization of indicators and defines the core set and the additional indicators to ensure comparability across the different implementational levels as well as across countries. The framework aligns with WHO’s vision of strengthening national information systems and contributes to building a world health data hub at the global level. It concludes with a section on looking forward, identifying gaps and research needs for strengthening monitoring and evaluation further. “What gets measured gets done” reiterates that for the successful implementation of interventions against neglected tropical diseases, monitoring and evaluation will remain important components. Accordingly, this framework will remain a living document to support national programmes and be updated periodically with new evidence and experience.