The Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) has cautioned that no fewer than 122 million people in Nigeria risk infection with Neglected Tropical Disease (NTDs).
Some of the diseases include Lymphatic Filariasis ( Elephantiasis), Soil Transmitted Helminthiasis (STH), Onchocerciasis (River blindness), Trachoma (Granular Conjunctivitis) and Schistosomiasis (Bilharzia).
Director and national coordinator of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) Control/Elimination/Eradication Programme at the FMoH, Dr Chukwuma Anyaike, made the disclosure on Thursday at a two-day media dialogue organised by the Child Rights Information Bureau (CRIB) Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Anyaike said that NTDs, a group of 20 disease conditions that are common on tropical or sub-tropical regions, are closely associated with poverty, poor sanitation, lack of water sources, substandard housing condition and deficient health care access.
“The diseases are called neglected because they tend to affect the world’s poorest and receive less attention than others diseases. It is estimated that 122 million people in Nigeria are affected or at risk of getting NTDs. Of the number, 20 per cent are pre-school age children, 28 per cent are school age children and 52 per cent are adults”.
He emphasised that NTDs have great impact on economic growth and must be tackled because “sustainable economic development cannot occur without addressing NTDs.”
Anyaike added that mass administration of medicines , innovation and intensified disease management, integrated vector management, as well as improved water, sanitation and hygiene, in addition to more funding, will go a long way to address the disease.
“The challenges of the diseases are poor funding, lack of information while some people have wrong ideas about the disease and dirty environment. There should be enhanced planning for results resources, mobilisation and financial sustainability of national NTDs programme,’’ Anyaike said.
Mr Geoffrey Njoku, Communication Specialist, UNICEF, said that the diseases have been forgotten and that if nothing was done, they might spread the same way COVID-19 did.
Njoku said that the objective of the dialogue was for the media to understand why those diseases are neglected and create more awareness on them.
(NAN)