By Hassan Zaggi
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that it is ready to collaborate with other key partners to support the federal government mobilise the needed domestic and international resources required for the control, elimination and eradication of NTDs in Nigeria.
The WHO Country Representative in Nigeria, Dr Walter Kazadi Mulombo, disclosed this at a media briefing to mark the 2022 World NTDs day in Abuja, weekend.
He, therefore, called on communities and local governments to encourage surveillance, testing and treatment for NTD and to learn more about the diseases in order to end what he described as the ‘silent epidemic’.
“I want to encourage individuals, communities, and local governments to encourage surveillance, testing and treatment for NTD and to learn more about these diseases, to end the silent epidemic it causes.
“WHO works with countries and everyone – including partners and NGOs – to address NTDs towards health systems strengthening and universal health coverage,” he said.
While vowing more support to end NTDs in Nigeria, the WHO Chief said: “Let me pledge WHO’s commitment to continuing partnership with Federal Ministry of Health and other departments, partners and stakeholders working on NTD through provision of technical support, and innovations towards the attainment of the set targets.
“WHO is also committed to facilitating the donation of all essential medicines for NTD as it has always done each year.
“NTD is preventable, treatable and curable. “
He, further charged the media to give considerable attention to the issues around NTDs in order to improve access to services to prevent, diagnose and treat the disease in Nigeria.
He, however, revealed that in Nigeria, more than 1 million new cases of NTDs are still being detected yearly. Around 50 million persons are at risk of infection yearly.
The theme for this year’s World NTDs day was: “Achieving health equity to end the neglect of poverty related diseases.”
