NTDs are a diverse group of communicable diseases that prevail in tropical and subtropical conditions in 149 countries, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
These affect more than 1.5 billion of the world's most impoverished people and cost developing economies billions of dollars every year.
Despite their prevalence, NTDs have not always been at the top of public health priorities.
World NTD Day will broaden the conversation beyond the traditional global health community, engaging the general public in the effort to ensure people at risk for NTDs no longer remain "neglected".