The International Snakebite Awareness Day has taken place annually on Sept 19 since 2018. Snakebites kill an estimated 137 880 people each year and three times as many survivors live with life-changing disabilities. ,,Since 2018, there has been some increased funding for research and development of antivenoms and other therapies. But there is a pressing need to additionally focus on the chronic aspects of snakebite care. The WHO strategy for snakebite envenoming aims to decrease not only mortality but also morbidity by 50% by 2030.

In a comment piece in The Lancet three of our network members (Soumyadeep Bhaumik, Maya Gopalakrishnan, Priti Meena) highlights the chronic manifestations of snakebite and propose a system-oriented approach with multi-component interventions to address chronic aspects of snakebite care, together with social support and investments in multidisciplinary research to end the neglect of snakebite.

Read The Lancet article which highlights that the NTD community’s goal to “end the neglect” can be truly achieved in the snakebite domain only if
snakebite survivors are at the centre of the response here (free but needs registration by e-mail) .