Abstract
SUMMARY BOX
• Significant progress has been made in reducing the global burden of visceral leishmaniasis, but new threats are on the horizon.
• Funding for elimination of visceral leishmaniasis programmes will be reduced through cuts in the UK’s overseas aid budget.
•. Thousands of cases may go undetected in East Africa as a result of Bio-Rad Laboratories’ planned discontinuation of production of the only effective rapid test.
• A global shortage of AmBisome, a first-line treatment produced by Gilead, is looming due to COVID-19-related demand for the drug.
• The achievement of both the WHO neglected tropical diseases road map for visceral leishmaniasis by 2030 and Sustainable Development Goal 3.3 could be jeopardised.
• The UK government, Bio-Rad and Gilead must honour their commitments in order to avoid undermining decades of progress.
