The founder of Grandview Initiatives Foundation, Bisi Adegbuyi, has pledged to use his talent and resources to fight Helicobacter pylori, a bacteria that infects the stomach, causing damage to its tissue and the first part of small intestines or the duodenum.
During an interaction with reporters, he said his Grandview Initiatives Foundation would launch a campaign on the deadly disease. The legal practitioner explained that plans were underway to research some plants for the treatment of the H.Pylori.
Studies have shown that the H. Pylori has a high burden of 87.7 per cent in Nigeria and 50 per cent globally. A study published in the Nigerian Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, in July,this year, the high burden of Helicobacter pylori infection globally, undoubtedly makes the organism a pathogen of concern coupled with its classification as a group I carcinogen by the World Health Organisation.
The study explained that the disease is a gram-negative, helical, microaerophilic bacterium that colonises the gut and has been implicated in various gastric disorders, including peptic ulcer disease (PUD), gastritis, gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma, and gastric adenocarcinoma.
The study stated that in Nigeria, the prevalence of H. pylori is high with an estimated 87.7 per cent prevalence rate with the northern part of the country having a higher prevalence compared to other regions of the country. Addressing journalists on the planned activities of the Foundation, Adegbuyi regretted that many Nigerians are ignorant of the disease. The Foundation which was established in honour of his late sister, Mrs Caroline Adetutu Phillips who died from complications arising from H. pylori, was designed to create the right awareness as well as support the less privileged.
Lamenting low awareness, Adegbuyi, an entrepreneur and lawyer said: “The real fact is that governments at all levels are not even paying attention to it because they are not aware and because it is not a disease that is as common as COVID-19, polio, malaria, High Blood Pressure or diabetes. There is a need to draw attention to the problem. I am determined to defeat it. As an ordinary citizen, I believe I can use the special purpose vehicle of my foundation to create positive awareness. What I am trying to do is to have a yearly memorial lecture in honour of my late sister who I believe died for me to live and save the lives of many Nigerians.
“I am using myself as an ambassador of some sort for H. pylori, to create awareness, and wake people up from their slumber. We have experts in Nigeria capable of assisting in this drive-in collaboration with their counterparts across Africa. I have tested positive for this disease and used a cocktail of antibiotics and some other drugs. I did another test six months after, still positive but I have read books on it.”
Noting that treatment and management of H. pylori remained difficult as the rate of resistance to antibiotics is on the rise, Adegbuyi said the foundation has several initiatives that they are pushing to create awareness and draw the attention of the government at all levels.
He planned to collaborate with the African Helicobacter and Microbiota Study Group (AHMSG) to conduct the research.