The National Coordinator for Neglected Tropical Diseases at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Fatai Oyediran, on Thursday, said about $19m is required to effectively tackle NTDs in the country.
Oyediran disclosed this on the second day of the high-level advocacy meeting with Commissioners for Health from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja.
He noted that with adequate investment, NTDs can be controlled and eradicated.
“I confirm that Nigeria needs about $19m to effectively tackle NTDs. We developed our NTDs master plan in 2023 to run through 2027, and that is exactly what we need to effectively combat NTDs,” he said.
He called for collaborative efforts to mobilise the resources and plan strategically to implement the master plan.
“Once this is done, I’m confident that NTDs in Nigeria will become a thing of the past,” he added.
The World Health Organisation defined NTDs as a diverse group of conditions caused by a variety of pathogens (including viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi and toxins) and associated with devastating health, social and economic consequences.
The global health body said NTDs are mainly prevalent among impoverished communities in tropical areas, although some have a much larger geographical distribution. It is estimated that NTDs affect more than one billion people, while the number of people requiring NTD interventions (both preventive and curative) is 1.6 billion.
Some of the NTDs are elephantiasis, soil-transmitted helminthiasis, river blindness, trachoma, schistosomiasis, snakebites, leishmaniasis, Human African Trypanosomiasis, mycetoma, rabies, Buruli ulcer, Noma, etc.
Statistics show that Nigeria contributes about 50 per cent to the burden of NTDs in Africa and 25 per cent globally.
Identifying inadequate funding as one of the primary challenges hindering efforts to combat NTDs in Nigeria, the National Coordinator advocated a collaborative approach, involving strong political will and support from all levels of government to effectively address the diseases.
“One major challenge in addressing NTDs has been inadequate funding.
“There are about 21 diseases grouped under NTDs; each of them has its own peculiarities. Adequate funding is essential to effectively implementing all the strategies of controlling NTDs,” he stated.
He also emphasised the need for both federal and state governments to allocate sufficient budgets for NTDs, stressing that most states currently lack budgetary provisions for these diseases.
“This is one of the reasons we are engaging here today with health commissioners. They are expected to communicate with their governors and ministries of budget and planning to establish a dedicated budget line for NTDs,” he said.
The Director of Advocacy and Resource Mobilisation United to Combat NTDs, Stuart Halford, emphasised the need for adequate funding to fight NTDs.
According to Halford, there are lots of health priorities, but eliminating NTDs is equally important because they contribute to economic and productivity losses.
In his remarks, the Abia State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Enoch Uche, disclosed that the state has four endemic NTDs, which include onchocerciasis in 17 LGAs, lymphatic filariasis also endemic in 17 LGAs, soil-transmitted helminthiasis in 16 LGAs, and schistosomiasis in 33 wards.
He explained that the state government obtained this data through a case mapping done across the state in 2012.
“Following this, we began mass administration of drugs as a form of preventive measure, which lasted for 10 years. In 2022, Abia state was certified to have broken the transmission of onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis,” he said.
Also, the Kwara State Commissioner for Health, Amina El-Imam, said the state government is making efforts to channel available resources towards addressing NTDs.
El-Imam, who is also the Secretary of the Nigeria Health Commissioner Forum, noted that the state has eradicated lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis.
“There are many health challenges being tackled simultaneously. NTDs are so-called because they have not received appropriate attention and funding over the past years.
“Unless we refocus on them, we will not be able to achieve eradication as intended,” she added.