The Federal Government yesterday assured Nigerians and all stakeholders in the health sector that the national target to eliminate Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) by the year 2030 is still possible.
Eight years before the target date, the government noted that while significant progress has been made over the years, especially since the first Masterplan for NTDs was launched in 2012, more collaborative efforts from well-meaning Nigerians, philanthropists, private sector, development partners, and others, are needed to achieve the target.
The Director of Public Health at the Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Morenike Alex-Okoh, who made this known in Abuja during a five-day workshop for the development of the NTDs Masterplan for 2022 to 2026, stated that over 120 million Nigerians are at risk of NTDs.
Represented by the National Coordinator of the NTDs programme of the ministry, Dr Nseobong Akpan, she said: “NTDs are non-communicable diseases largely associated with poverty, and most prevalent in areas that have poor sanitation, unsafe water supply, and sub-standard household conditions. The absence of these basic amenities does hurt the health and socio-economic development of the country.
“To tackle the menace of these NTDs, the review and implementation were extended in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The NTD roadmap for 2021 to 2030 by the World Health Organisation (WHO), which proposed an ambitious target and innovative approaches toward tackling NTDs, provides a clear blueprint and direction toward eliminating NTDs globally. There is nothing impossible if we put our hands together.
“We need local resources mobilisation from philanthropists, and financial institutions to support NTDs because donor support is going down. We should work more on advocacy and social mobilisation, and use innovative terminologies and practices to improve on elimination and interventions.”
On behalf of the Country Representative of the WHO, Dr Walter Mulombo, the NTD Focal Person, Dr Sulaiman Aliyu, said: “The NTDs masterplan has been in the process for a very long time. The target we set should be objectively verifiable and monitored. It would be fine if the states were the ones to bring up their state-level master plan. But, we understand the cost. However, we should try to include some of the states.”