Media relations / News

Berlin, June 16, 2025 – The German Network against Neglected Tropical Diseases (DNTDs) is very pleased with the decision of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) to present this year’s Commitment Award for “outstanding personal commitment in development cooperation” to Prof. Dr. Martin Kollmann. The award honors his life’s work, which has significantly contributed to the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda.

As early as the 2000s – when neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) received little attention in Germany – Prof. Kollmann strongly advocated for these preventable and typically poverty-related diseases to be brought back onto the development policy agenda. He played a key role in the founding of the German Network against Neglected Tropical Diseases (DNTDs) in 2014. This founding was inspired by the London Declaration, signed two years earlier by committed donor countries, companies, and NGOs, which brought NTDs into the spotlight – although Germany had not signed it at the time.

Together with the DNTDs, Prof. Dr. Martin Kollmann helped ensure that the fight against these diseases regained attention in Germany in the years that followed. Programs were initiated, and key institutions involved in combating NTDs received support from the German government. When the London Declaration was renewed in 2022 and replaced by the Kigali Declaration, which gave high priority to NTDs on the global health agenda, Germany became the first Western industrialized nation to sign it.

Prof. Dr. Martin Kollmann is a specialist in ophthalmology. His path was shaped by personal experiences: in the 1980s, he worked as a doctor in rural Ethiopia through the German Development Service (DED). There, he encountered deep poverty, preventable blindness, and social exclusion – as well as the remarkable resilience of those affected.

In 1994, with support from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), he went to Nairobi as a lecturer to strengthen ophthalmological training through a partnership with the University of Munich. Starting in 2001, he worked with CBM Christoffel Mission for the Blind, focusing on training and developing sustainable healthcare structures in rural Kenya.

From 2010 onward, his professional focus shifted to fighting NTDs. As a technical advisor at CBM, he worked closely with partners from national programs, the WHO, research, industry, and civil society. Particularly important to him was working directly with local health workers and volunteers: “They know the challenges on the ground best – and often the appropriate solutions too. I learned a great deal from them – about respect, innovation, and humanity.”

Through his “train-the-trainer” approach, Prof. Kollmann made a significant contribution to training local healthcare personnel – and helped restore eyesight to many.

Even in retirement, from Nairobi, Martin Kollmann continues to be deeply committed – professionally, politically, and personally – to Germany’s efforts in the fight against NTDs. As a bridge-builder between research, private sector, and civil society, Prof. Kollmann offers valuable input – also for the implementation of the WHO NTD Roadmap 2030, which is up for a midterm review this year. Looking ahead, he emphasizes: “To achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals and eliminate NTDs, we need global solidarity, innovative approaches, strong local systems – and the active involvement of those affected. Civil society engagement is not optional, but essential.”

Photo: CBM Christoffel Mission for the Blind

+ + Focus on health and climate for one day

Berlin/Dubai, 1 December 2023 - For the first time, the nexus between climate change and health will be explicitly addressed at a UN climate conference. A Health Day will take place at COP 28 on 3 December 2023. "We expect this day to have a major signalling effect because the changes caused by climate change and their negative effects on the health of people, animals and the environment will finally be given a forum. We also hope to attract more attention to the neglected tropical diseases that are directly linked to climate change and particularly affect those who are particularly vulnerable to climate change," says Prof Dr Achim Hörauf, DNTD spokesperson and Director of the Institute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology at Bonn University Hospital.

 

The Health Day, which will take place in parallel with the COP 28 programme, will be supplemented by another conference, the "Reaching the Last Mile Forum 2023". "We need to adapt our strategies to safeguard the achievements of global health in a rapidly evolving climate landscape. This includes revising surveillance systems and intervention strategies, holistic research to understand the complex effects of climate change on disease transmission and also incorporating climate resilience," calls Dr Ibrahima Socé Fall, Director of the Department of Neglected Tropical Diseases at the World Health Organization (WHO).

Germany, which signed the Kigali Declaration against Neglected Tropical Diseases in 2022 and committed to joint action against tropical diseases, will also present its activities at the Reaching the Last Mile Forum 2023. The German government supports product development partnerships with the aim of ensuring access to new, effective and safe health products against neglected tropical diseases. In a first phase, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is supporting the "Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative" (DNDi) to improve access to new drugs against visceral leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, sleeping sickness and river blindness in East Africa, India and South America. This will complement the long-term funding for research and development from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) that the German government provides to DNDi, the German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), the Sub-Saharan Research Networks (RHISSA) and others.

More information: https://unitingtocombatntds.org/en/neglected-tropical-diseases/resources/ntds-and-climate-change/

 

 

Berlin, 26 Jan 2023 - "To effectively tackle neglected tropical diseases, we need safer, simpler and more effective treatments that are affordable and available to people. We call on the German government to provide more support for efforts to develop and disseminate diagnoses, treatments and vaccinations to combat neglected tropical diseases and to elaborate and implement the commitments made (e.g. on the occasion of the Kigali Declaration) into an action plan for research and development," explains Prof. Dr Achim Hörauf, spokesperson of the German Network against Neglected Tropical Diseases, Director of the Institute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology at Bonn University Hospital.

"More investment in programmes to combat neglected tropical diseases signals change to the world, leads to better education, health and employment opportunities. Since NTDs are primarily diseases of poverty, we are improving the living conditions of the world's poorest by providing access to health care," Hörauf continued.

Eliminating the neglected tropical diseases NTDs is possible in our lifetime. No one should suffer from preventable, treatable diseases, especially since appropriate drugs and vaccines are often donated and available. The treatment and prevention programmes based on them reach more than a billion people every year. They must be continued consistently and continuously.

COVID-19 demonstrated the importance of investing in strong public health systems that can both respond to endemic diseases like NTDs and make the world more resilient to pandemics. Smart investments upfront can save billions in the long run.

For more information on the World Day Against Neglected Tropical Diseases, please visit

https://worldntdday.org/get-involved/

Facts and figures

The German government was the first western country to sign the Kigali Declaration against Neglected Tropical Diseases. Other state signatories currently are:  Botswana, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Uganda and Vanuatu, as well as Belgium, Canada, Japan, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, the USA. More information on other signatories https://unitingtocombatntds.org/kigali-declaration-commitment-tracker/

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.