Wilson Adekumola
The Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr Joseph Ngbea has declared that about five million people in Benue State are susceptible to Neglected Tropical Diseases, NTDs if not quickly curtailed.
Ngbea, who made this disclosure during the commemoration of the World Neglected Tropical Disease Day 2023 with the theme; ‘Act Now, Act Together Invest In Neglected Tropical Diseases’ said NTDs is a diseases of the pauperized.
According to Leadership, the occasion was organized by the Benue State ministry of Health and Human Service Neglected Tropical Disease Control and Elimination Programme in conjunction with SightSavers to create awareness and enlighten the people on the dangers of the diseases to enable citizens to take precautions.
He said, “NTDs are referred to as group of debilitating diseases affecting impoverished populations that lack access to hygiene, sanitation and healthcare, causes are attributed to various pathogens of bacteria, viruses fungi and toxins in origin, leading to stigmatization, social exclusion, disabilities and even death.”
While lamenting the rate at which people are contracting the disease, he said “over 1.7 billion persons are affected in over 149 countries, noting that NTDs ranks among the top four most devastating communicable diseases alongside diarrhea disease, HIV/Aids infection and lower respiratory tract infection.”
Analysing the local government areas affected by the NTDs, the commissioner stated that all the 23 local governments in Benue State are affected with Onchocerciasis or Liver blindness, 16 LGs are affected with Lymphatic filariasis or Elephantiasis, 18 LGs affected with Soil transmitted Helminths, Intestinal Worms, 22 LGs affected with Schistosomiasis, Bilharziasis, with three local government areas suffering from Blinding Trachoma.
He evaluated the success achieved so far tackle the issue of NTDs to includes elimination of blinding Trachoma, which described as one of the leading causes of preventable blindness in the three affected local government areas of Gwer- West, Gwer- East and Ukum and the reclassification of Benue State’s endemicity from ongoing transmission for Onchocerciasis to suspected interruption of transmission of Onchocerciasis by the National Onchocerciasis Elimination Committee, NOEC.
Other achievements he recounted are free Hydrocelectomy to 763 Hydrocele cases, provision of free management kits and training of 388 lymphedema or Elephantiasis cases to affected persons and caregivers, free surgery to 44 patients suffering from Trachoma Trichiasis as well as the constitution and commission of State NTDs steering committee among other achievements.
The Chairman, State Technical Advisory Committee on NTDs, Prof. Elizabeth Amuta, had earlier showed his appreciation saying that the state is grateful to the partners particularly SigthSavers for their support and urge more sponsors to partner with them.
