…About 4 Million Treated In Last Five Years
Permanent Secretary, of the Ministry of Health and Human Services, Dr Beatrice Tsav has said that over 6.5 million people in the state were at risk of at least one out of four Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) affecting the Benue populace.
The Permanent Secretary who disclosed this during a media briefing on the occasion of the World NTDs Day, held at the Conference hall of the ministry in Makurdi on Tuesday said that all the 23 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the state were endemic to onchocerciasis.
While she explained that one or more of the four NTDs have overlapping endemicity that is of public health importance, which has placed the people of the state at risk, she observed that close to four million persons affected by NTDs in Benue, were undergoing one form of treatment or the other.
Tsav further pointed out that while NTDs are ranked high among the most devastating communicable infectious diseases alongside, diarrheal diseases, HIV/AlDs, and lower respiratory tract infections, she stressed that NTDs pose a serious threat to the attainment of sustainable development goal 3.
According to her, “The 23 LGAs in Benue State have overlapping endemicity for one or more of four NTDs that are of public health importance with an at-risk population of 6,580,581 (Six million, five hundred and eighty thousand, five hundred and eighty-one) persons.
“Endemically all the 23 LGAs are endemic for onchocerciasis or river blindness; 16 LGAs are endemic for lymphatic filariasis or elephantiasis; 18 LGAs are endemic for soil-transmitted helminthes or intestinal worms and 22 LGAs are endemic for schistosomiasis or bilharziasis.
“These NTDs pose a serious threat to the attainment of sustainable development goal 3, as the burden of NTDs is greater than that of malaria and tuberculosis combined.
“NTDs rank among the top 4 most devastating communicable infectious diseases alongside, diarrheal diseases, HIV/AlDs, and lower respiratory tract infections. The socioeconomic impact of NTDs remains a concern as the vicious cycle of NTD infections and poverty has been prominently established.”
The Permanent Secretary further stated “As we mark the 4th edition of World NTDs Day, we reiterate the call to all stakeholders to redouble their efforts as we sustain strategies such as preventive chemotherapy through mass drug administration.
“With an average of 3,993,098 persons being treated for the past five years, intensified disease management through case management, integrated vector control, veterinary public health and water sanitation and hygiene in endemic communities to ensure the equitable elimination of NTDs by 2030.
“The Ministry of Health’s mission is to ensure that no Benue citizen goes blind, disabled, suffer and dies due to complications from NTDs, that is why the Ministry has prioritized the staffing and training of the NTDs Elimination Programme for efficient programme delivery.
“We have equally strengthened intersectoral collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Benue Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (BERWASSA), and State Universal Basic Education Board, to improve access to interventions.
“The State NTDs programme under my watch has distinguished itself by receiving some national laurels notably amongst which are an award for Trachoma elimination and award for outstanding partnership in 2023.”
Dr Tsav further observed that “the attention of the Global health community is focused on the comorbidity of NTDs and mental health in 65% of persons affected by NTDs, ironically NTDs remain “neglected” as they have not been given the required attention and do not feature prominently in the global health agenda like HIV/AIDs, malaria, tuberculosis and recently the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Meanwhile, Abraham Aba, Program Officer, Sight Savers, said “Sight Savers is supporting the State Ministry of Health to eliminate NTDs in the State.
“We are (also) providing technical, financial, and all kinds of support the ministry needs to ensure the elimination of this disease.
“We have so far interrupted the transmission of onchocerciasis (river blindness). We have also eliminated trachoma which before now was a public health concern in the State”, he stated.
The theme for this year’s World NTDs Day, which is “Unite. Act. To Eliminate Neglected Tropical Diseases”, aims to draw the attention of political leaders and communities to raise the profile of NTDs and attributable suffering of over 1.6 billion affected persons.
It also aims to mobilize resources towards the elimination of NTDs in line with the programmatic targets in the NTDs Road Map, 2021-2030, and the commitments of the 2022 Kigali Declaration.
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