By Tobias Lengnan Dapam
State Minister for Health, Adeleke Mamora, the Chairman Senate Committee on Health and chairman of the Nigeria National Task Team (NNTT) on Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), Sen. Ibrahim Yahaya Oloriegbe and the chairman of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Health, Tanko Sununu have advocated collaboration with stakeholders in the country to address NTDs.
Specifically, Mamora said partnership at all levels is necessary to address health challenges in the country.
He added that the country needs accessible and quality health care system.
“Malaria remains the major cause of mortality and morbidity; and has killed more people than any diseases in the country.”
Also speaking, Sen. Oloriegbe, said
“it is now time for us to have improved coordination of the efforts at the various levels aimed at eliminating NTDs in Nigeria by increasing oversight on the implementation of NTD programmes and more importantly accelerating the interventions aimed at eliminating the diseases.
“Today’s meeting precedes the “100% Committed Campaign” Scheduled to kick off in Nigeria in January 2022, where President Muhammadu Buahari is expected to join other world leaders in endorsing the Kigali Declaration on NTDs as part of the events to mark the World NTD Day and to commemorate ten (10) years of the London Declaration on NTDs.
“It is also no longer news that NTDs’ are indeed ‘Neglected’, not just globally but within Nigeria. It is time to reverse this trend and pay more attention to the alleviation of the sufferings encountered by people affected by NTDs.”
He said everyone has a role to play, “the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) has to ensure effective and efficient execution of NTD Programmes whilst guaranteeing that the best of the FMOH team in terms of competence and professionalism is deployed to the NTD unit in the Public Health department. This also includes efficient data gathering especially for IDM NTDs as well as adequate Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) at State, local government and ward/ grassroot levels- because this is where the work really needs to be done.”
In addition, he said the Ministry must ensure that medical commodities including drugs donated are immediately distributed to the last mile where persons who need them can have access to the items.
“Medical commodities for NTDs expiring in the Ministry’s warehouses will no longer be acceptable, for any reason. Developing NTD national strategic plans must be implemented and not just be an academic exercise.
“Developmental partners must continue to ensure that their support for Nigeria, being the second highest burden country for NTDs, is sustained and that these effort in Nigeria is a determinant in moving Nigeria from being the 2nd highest burden to being the last in the next five years. Partners also have a duty to report any anomaly or challenges noticed in their line of duty to the national task team on NTDs or directly to my office, as the Chair of the National Task Team.
“We need the organized private sector and corporate organizations to mobilize its members to urgently contribute towards this elimination drive. NTDs affect the quality of life of the citizens and often times causes severe disabilities. The Elimination of NTDs from Nigeria will help to improve the productive capabilities of people living with NTDs as well as those who are at risk of these diseases and this can help sustain economic growth by adding billions to the economy.
“Economic Modeling undertaken by The Economist intelligence unit showed the productivity gains that could be achieved across five African countries from the elimination of just two NTDs. It showed that Ethiopia and Kenya could add $3.2 billion and $1.3 billion to their economies respectively. Given that Nigeria’s NTD burden is higher than both these countries, the expected economic gains through reaching the WHO targets would be substantial.
“As a global champion for ending NTDs, I and my colleagues on the NNTT (Nigeria National Task Team) are showing leadership by ensuring that our country Nigeria, takes ownership of its own NTD programme and injects the same level of effort that has been put into other programmes and that Nigeria becomes 100% Committed to fighting all of the fourteen (14 ) NTDs endemic in the country. Most importantly collaborating to ensure the prevention of an outbreak of other NTDs in Nigeria.”
On his part, Sununu said the country must adopt new ways of addressing the challenges.
While expressing worry that foreign funding has reduced, he called on stakeholders to partner and contribute their quota towards ending the challenges.
“We need every body on board to put and end to these challenges. Our commitment must seat now so as to creat a better environment for all of us.”
