Bukola Afeni
Neglected Tropical Diseases(NTDs) are communicable diseases that are associated with poverty and are prevalent in isolated areas with poor nutrition, poor sanitation, poor water and substandard housing conditions.
NTD day is celebrated on 30th January of every year to create awareness about the diseases.
Neglected Tropical Diseases are usually found in Africa and other Asia countries.
The World Health Organization, Cluster Lead for UCN, Chavan Laxmikant, said globally there are 21 Neglected Tropical Diseases.
He said the theme for this year’s World NTDs Day celebation is strategic , which is “Unite , Create awareness , act together and eliminate one NTDs.
He noted that globally, we have more than 50 counties that have eliminated one NTDs.
While stating that there is a global call that at least 100 countries should eliminate NTD by 2030.In Africa, at least 20 countries have eliminated at least one NTD as of now.
The WHO Cluster Lead further added that hopefully Nigeria will eliminate more NTDs in 2030.
“We also look forward to see how we are close to eliminating NTDs in Nigeria.We need also to work in different ways by collaborating with other MDAs, and different development partners to eliminate NTDs in Nigeria”
The Director of Public Health, Federal Ministry of health Chukwuma Anyaike, said the significance of NTD day is to renew global awareness and national awareness to reduce the magnitude of neglected tropical diseases.
He added that eliminating NTDs will take care of serious disabilities that are found in the country.
“It comes with lots of disabilities, and discrimination. Diseases such as river blindness limit the person living with the disease. Leprosy leaves the patient disfigured , lymphatic disease comes with swollen legs, and sometimes leads to amputation”, he said.
Anyaike disclosed that putting more resources together and collaborating with relevant stakeholders in the health sector will aid in eliminating NTDs.
“At the Federal Ministry of Health level, the government is working tirelessly to invest in ending NTDs in Nigeria. For us to remove the majority of our people out of poverty,NTDs should be placed on the front desk .
We have joined other countries to come up with a road map , because we realized that if you do not have a road map you will not know where you are going, and that channel is what we are putting down. Nigeria is among the countries, globally that has been able to come up with a road map”, he said.
In the same vein, he noted that Nigeria is surrounded by a lot of water bodies , hence the increase in the number of river blindness.
“Snail fever is also another form of NTDs,which affect children and their academics and development. The country also has a high rate of Dengue fever.
Recently Norma has been globally acclaimed as one of the Neglected Tropical diseases and the federal ministry of health created a desk unit, under development and NTDs”, he said.
While reiterating government’s effort at curtailing NTDs, he said there has been considerable progress in eliminating river blindness in two states,consisting of Plateau and Nasarawa state.We have been able to manage river blindness in 8 other states including Kaduna, Kebbi, Zamfara, Delta , Enugu and Anambra state.
“The National Program has been able to conduct surgeries for some people. 70 percent progress has been made in that regard. The country has eradicated Guinea worms as far back as 2013”, he said.
The Director Neglected Tropical Diseases, Federal Ministry of Health, Mr Fatai Oyediran, who was represented by Mr Adebayo Peters urged all Nigerians to go for regular check ups to test for Neglected Tropical Diseases.
He said the Federal Government usually gives mass administration of medicine in every community to reduce the prevalence of NTDs.
According to the Director, the Federal Government has been working with the mental health department to address the issue of stigma among people who are diagnosed with Neglected Tropical Diseases.
“Stigma reduction is one of the issues that we are trying to tackle at the Federal and State level.We are working with the mental health department to ensure that the stigma that is associated with NTDs is reduced drastically.Usually when the patients are discriminated they feel bad and it may affect their mental health at the long run”, he said.
In the same vein, the health expert expressed series of ways whereby the Federal Government is creating awareness both at the state and national level to ensure that the country will meet its target in terms of reducing NTDs.
“We usually engage in advocacy communication strategies to disseminate information to Nigerians from different parts of the country. We also engage in media publicity to share information about NTDs. The ministry also liaises with religious leaders to create awareness among the faithful. All these measures will come in place towards eradication of NTDs by 2030.”
He also emphasized on the importance of citizens prioritizing their sanitation and hygiene to reduce the spread of Neglected Tropical Diseases.
“NTDs are distributed in all the 36 states of the Federal Capital Territory, one or two of these diseases are endemic in each of the state.The World Health Organization target is to ensure that by the year 2030,NTDs are eliminated in the country.
We want to control, eliminate and eradicate NTDs through reduction in morbidity and mortality”, he said,
The Director noted that governments at all levels must take full responsibility for NTDs elimination, both at the local government,state and national level.
This article was produced with the support of Speak Up Africa”s Media Fellowship Program