How Neglected Tropical Diseases Afflicted 167k Nigerians in..

How Neglected Tropical Diseases afflicted over 167, 000 Nigerians in a community in the north, is still the talk on many lips with the authorities tagging the diseases as tropical in nature.

This came to the fore in the course of the marking of ‘2023 World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDa) Day’ which held in Lafia yesterday.

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The Commissioner for health in Nasarawa State, Ahmed Baba-Yahaya, has attributed the strange diseases to by absence of environmental sanitation, poor housing condition and lack of good portable water..

He said about 167, 597 people had already been afflicted by the neglected ailments, and that of these number, 106, 415 are school children 61, 182 were adults, all of which had been treated in the state government’s efforts to tackle the diseases.

READ ALSO: Also, 41 surgeries of hydrocele were carried out at the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital Lafia and 145 lymphadema patients were also currently being managed at 10 different medical facilities in the state.

According to the commissioners, the neglected tropical diseases are a group of bacteria or parasitic diseases numbering about 20 usually caused by absence of environmental sanitation, poor housing condition and lack of good portable water.

He listed some of the Neglected Tropical Diseases to include Onchocerciasis, Lymphatic, Filariasis, Trachoma among others, adding that the state was recognised for being the first in the country to successful eliminate Onchocerciasis Filariasis as a public health problem.

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“In 2022, we trained 60 local integrated health team members, 300 health facilities staff, 2,722 public and private primary and junior secondary school teachers.

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“We also trained 966 communities directed distributors and 54 school supervisors,” the Commissioner added.

The state government with the support of support of the Carter Center had introduced free surgery of morbidity management for people with hydrocele, the commissioner said.

On those deserving of commendation for support in the healthcare and wellbeing of the people, he mentioned the governor, Gov. Abdullahi Sule, the ministry of Health and the Carter Centre as deserving commendation.

The Commissioner also lauded healthcare workers in the state for their hard work in the fight against NTDs as well as other infectious diseases such as COVID-19, Lassa Fever, HIV, monkey pox, chickenpox among others.