The Cape Town Action Plan for Neglected Tropical Skin Diseases: From Workshop Consensus to Health‐System Action
Ramesha M. Bhat, Mariel Isa, Ketty Peris, Monisha Madhumita, Swathi Nagabushan, Emma van Rooijen, Henry W. Lim, Martin Röcken, María Ivonne Arellano Mendoza, Ncoza N. Dlova, Jennifer KilmerABSTRACT
Skin‐related neglected tropical diseases (skin NTDs) remain visible markers of health‐system inequity. The World Health Organization (WHO) road map for neglected tropical diseases 2021–2030, its 2022 strategic framework for skin NTDs, and the WHO Global Report on Neglected Tropical Diseases 2025 already establish integration, primary‐care mainstreaming, and improved access to diagnostics and medicines as global priorities. Drawing on Workshop 1 of the 4th International League of Dermatological Societies (ILDS) World Skin Summit, this viewpoint positions the Cape Town Action Plan not as a competing policy framework, but as an implementation compact for translating existing commitments into locally owned service readiness, accountable delivery, and measurable follow‐through.