**8. Conclusion**

There has been increasing global awareness about leishmaniasis and the need for its eradication. However, there are many challenges that hinder this global initiative and maintain leishmaniasis as one of the neglected tropical diseases. These challenges include but are not limited to high cost, variability of clinical spectrum, cyclic transmission patterns, changing disease foci, emerging atypical and resistant forms, suboptimal diagnostics, limited treatment options/availability, and suboptimal community awareness and health-care coverage, in particular in nonendemic areas. Several preventive measures using various strategies are needed to tackle personal human protection against infection, interventions targeting vector and animal reservoir control. With the current known challenges and limitations of resources, perhaps integrated approach to control this infection and focus on development of effective vaccine for protection may be a strategic way to use the limited resources available to reach the WHO's set target of leishmaniasis reduction/elimination [17].

For WHO to reach its leishmaniasis elimination target, seriously committed global efforts with substantial funding will be required. However, the question whether complete accomplishment of this goal is technically achievable, given the abovementioned challenges, remains to be answered.

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