Toward achieving the WHO 2030 target in the mitigation of snakebite envenoming: the fundamental challenges in addressing the unmet needs.

Abstract

Snakebite envenoming represents a significant public health challenge, particularly in regions where venomous snakes are prevalent. Globally, it has been estimated that every year 81,000-1,38,000 people die due to venomous snakebites along with enormous morbidity and physical disability to the survivors. Almost 70% of estimated global snakebite deaths are from South Asia Region. However, more than half of the global burden due to snakebite is alone from India with an estimated annual average of about 58,000 deaths. Thus, this is a significant public health problem for a developing country like India compared to the other Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). Considering the problem of snakebites in developing and tropical countries, which contributes almost 95% of the total snakebites of the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) has re-designated snakebite as a priority Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) in 2017. However, there is a little more than a 5-year window left for reducing mortality and morbidity due to snakebite envenoming by 50%, in aligning with the WHO 2030 target. Thus, for achieving this target within the span of half a decade, for this decades-old problem, there is an urgent need to recognize the fundamental challenges for addressing the unmet needs and recognizing the opportunities.