Bauchi Treats 987,635 NTDs’ Patients In 2021
- FMoH blames poverty for neglected tropical diseases
BY ADEYEMI AKANJI, BAUCHI – A total of 987,635 were treated for Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) in Bauchi state in the year 2021.
Available statistics from the Directorate of NTDs in the Bauchi State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (BASPHCDA) indicate that the treatment was carried out in five (5) Local Government Areas of the state.
According to the records, listed as the five LGAs are Kirfi, Bogoro, Warji, Toro and Giade with the target audience for the treatment being mostly children above five years who are considered most vulnerable to the diseases.
This is as the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) blames poverty as the main cause of illnesses that are derived from Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), but stressed that the diseases are preventable and treatable when a person is infected.
The North-East Zonal Coordinator of NTDs, Hauwa Abubakar made the submission during the commemoration of 2022 World NTDs Day held at the Primary Healthcare Centre, Tashan Durumi in Toro Local Government Area of Bauchi State.
Also noting that a dirty environment is an additional cause of the diseases, Hauwa said filth and contaminated atmosphere normally aggravate such situations because people sadly “feel comfortable in the filthy environment, thereby causing problems for themselves”.
The FMoH official further explained that NTDs normally are common with rural dwellers who do not have access to medical facilities, thereby not being able to access drugs that combat the diseases.
As a way out of this health challenge, Hauwa Abubakar encouraged people to be clean; maintain an unpolluted environment; seek access to health facilities for the required drugs; develop the habit of sleeping under insecticide-treated mosquito nets; and eat healthy foods to build up their immune system.
She also challenged the government at all levels on the need to meet their counterpart funding obligations in supporting both the development partners and NGOs that are health-inclined as well as formulating policies that make accessibility to drugs for treatment easy for the affected patients.
In a goodwill Message, the Executive Director of an NGO, Mission To Save the Helpless (MITOSATH), Dr. Francisca Olamiju said a major goal of the international NTD day celebration is to raise awareness about NTDs worldwide and to remind the public that a lot still needs to be done in eliminating NTDs.
Represented by Bauchi state Coordinator of MITOSATH, Esther Ijeoma, the Executive Director urged all stakeholders to remain steadfast in fighting to end NTDs, noting that the theme of this year’s World NTD day ‘ACHIEVING HEALTH EQUITY TO END THE NEGLECT OF POVERTY-RELATED DISEASES’ says it all.
“As we commemorate World NTD Day today, we appreciate FMoH, our state partners, and our donors the ENDFund and MDP for their kind support. We urge you all to follow all of the Covid 19 preventive measures.
“The health and safety of our staff, stakeholders, FMoH, SNTDs, LNTDs Frontlines, and communities are top priorities at MITOSATH. MITOSATH as a supporting partner will do all within her best abilities to support the NTD elimination goals.
“We urge you all to be part of the effort as we jointly eliminate NTDs in Nigeria and globally. Together we end the neglect”, she pleaded.
In its intervention, another NGO, Health and Development Support Programme (HANDS) hinted that it has conducted community outreach on Trachomatous Trichiasis (TT) surgery in the state in collaboration with the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (SPHDA) and the outcome would be quite useful in managing related health challenges in the state.
