Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) provide another example of how economic position can interact with host susceptibility. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), NTDs are defined by their association with poverty: "though medically diverse, neglected tropical diseases form a group because all are associated with poverty." 17 Substandard housing, lack of access to safe water and sanitation, and inadequate vector control contribute to the efficient transmission of infection. Currently, of the world's 2.7 billion impoverished individuals, more than a billion people suffer from NTDs. 17 Thankfully, there is growing attention to this matter among the international community. The first annual report on NTDs was released by the WHO in 2010. Director-General Margaret Chan refers to the MDGs in her preface and provides several examples of how eliminating NTDs would foster economic development: "Onchocerciasis and trachoma cause blindness. Leprosy and lymphatic filariasis deform in ways that hinder economic productivity and cancel out chances for a normal social life. Buruli ulcer maims.Human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) severely debilitates before it kills. Chagas disease can cause young adults to develop heart conditions, so that they fill hospital beds instead of the labor force," and so on. 17 The emphasis on potential negative productivity implications associated with untreated NTDs is understandable. Like cancer and heart disease, NTDs do not travel widely. New justifications are needed to persuade the international community to intervene when the direct threat to the health of wealthy country inhabitants is muted. If the medical community is to be committed to global health equity and not simply to reducing morbidity or mortality from the cluster of diseases that most affect the wealthy world, a rights-based approach to health care must be adopted.