ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how advocacy and measurement were used in the transformation of tropical diseases to NTDs to foster action and mobilise resources. A global advocacy campaign and branding exercise has repackaged tropical diseases into ‘neglected tropical diseases’. In exploring the roots of this campaign, scientist advocates played a leading role in NTDs as a new brand, which stems from a new name and ideas associated with it. The degree to which something is neglected is a difficult phenomenon to observe; one indication of neglect is in academic, media, and public forum representation. The rise in medical and healthcare literature citations indicates the biomedical community’s acknowledgment of NTD importance (Medline PubMed trend, https://dan.corlan.net">https://dan.corlan.net/medline-trend.html, accessed 2 April 2020). NTDs today have a fit-for-purpose venue for publication through the PLOS (Public Library of Science) Neglected Tropical Diseases journal, launched in 2007 as a dedicated open-access peer-viewed journal, along with coverage in high-profile scientific journals (The Lancet and BMJ). The NTD disease brand has played a role in this raised profile.
