Ministry of Health and Ghana Health Service with support from the United States Information Development would for the next two years fight five of the ancient neglected tropical diseases that have burdened humanity for centuries. The programme would cover all the 26 endemic districts in the Northern and Upper West Regions where pockets of trachoma could be identified, as well as 61 districts in eight regions where Lymphatic Filariasis (Elephantiasis) could be found, Professor Agyemang Badu Akosa, Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) said on Tuesday. Five of the ancient neglected tropical diseases – Trachoma; Lymphatic Filariasis; Onchocerciasis; Schistosomiasis and intestinal worms - are associated with poverty and poor environment. Opening a three-day stakeholders meeting on Strategic Planning on Neglected Tropical Disease Programme in Accra, Prof. Akosa said the link of these diseases with poverty was so strong that their prevalence could serve as proxy indicator of the level of a country's socioeconomic development. He noted that the effect of these diseases had a great burden on home care; low school enrolment; low agricultural productivity; inefficient land use and food insecurity. Prof. Akosa therefore called on politicians to realise their role in eliminating the five ancient diseases and afflictions since the fight against these neglected diseases could be better achieved in a combined effort. He explained that as Ghana was moving towards a total decentralized State, there was the need to disabuse the minds of District Chief Executives, Assembly Members and Members of Parliament on the use of money for development in their areas. "They should contribute part of their share of the District Assemblies' Common Fund to fight the diseases in their areas so that their people will enjoy good health and appreciate their efforts more for more of them live in the rural areas." At least one billion people worldwide currently suffer from one or more of these diseases and more than 40 million people are permanently incapacitated and disfigured by lymphatic filariasis alone. In Africa alone, about 30 million people with schistosomiasis suffer permanent and life threatening complications.