More funding required for 'forgotten' tropical diseases, say experts

More money should be made available in the fight to tackle lesser-known tropical diseases, it has been suggested.

While malaria receives a great deal of funding and coverage in the media, other conditions responsible for the deaths of millions are often "neglected", according to a report in the PLoS Medicine journal.

Researchers from the George Institute found that more than $2.5 billion (£1.75 billion) was spent on research and development on diseases commonly found in tropical areas in 2007, of which 80 per cent went on HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB.

The report states: "A broadening of funding efforts so that all who are able to contribute do so and all diseases receive the attention they deserve, would lead to a dramatic positive impact on the health of developing country patients afflicted with these diseases."

The report argues that while the high levels of spending across the board represents a positive situation, more needs to be spent on areas such as diarrhoeal diseases, which only claimed 4.5 per cent of the annual funding despite killing some 1.8 million people worldwide in 2005.

Conditions such as the skin disease leishmaniasis and parasitic diseases such as chagas need to be given more attention, the researchers urged.