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Nigeria to eliminate neglected tropical diseases before 2020: minister

Xinhua, May 11, 2016 Adjust font size:

Nigeria has made determination to eliminate Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) ahead of the 2020 globally given deadline by the World Health Organization (WHO), Minister of Health Isaac Adewole said on Wednesday.

Adewole told reporters in Abuja, the nation's capital, that the government has set up a robust and integrated multi-year national plan to control, eradicate and eliminate NTDs in Nigeria.

NTDs, according to WHO, are a diverse group of communicable diseases that prevail in tropical and subtropical conditions in 149 countries and affect more than one billion people, costing developing economies billions of dollars every year.

The NTDs listed by WHO include Buruli ulcer, guinea-worm disease, leprosy, lymphatic filariasis, river blindness, rabies, soil-transmitted helminthiases and trachoma, among others.

Adewole said Nigeria currently focuses on 11 of the WHO-listed diseases, especially trachoma.

According to him, trachoma was the leading cause of infectious blindness responsible for 1.2 million blind people worldwide.

He described the strategy endorsed by WHO for the elimination of trachoma as "safe", noting component surgery for blinding trichiasis, antibiotics for treatment of active disease, facial cleanliness and environmental improvement would hasten the elimination of trachoma in particular.

The minister urged development partners and donor agencies to key into the West African nation's plan to to eliminate trachoma and other NTDs, adding the elimination of these diseases would be a major contribution to poverty alleviation and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Endit