By Aluta News
Jan. 28, 2022
Mr Sanusi Ishaku, Data Officer, Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Unit, has said that 987,635 persons in five local government councils (LGCs) of Bauchi were treated of various NTDs in the state, in 2021.
Sanusi of the Bauchi State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (BSPHCDA) disclosed this at the end of the 2022 World Neglected Tropical Diseases celebration held in Toro LGC on Friday.
He said that preventive chemotherapy and surgeries were carried out on the people, while Onchocerciasis, Lymphatic filariasis, Schistosomiasis and Trachoma, were identified as the most endemic diseases in the state.
Ishiaku said the treatments were conducted in Kirfi, Bogoro, Warji, Giade and Toro.
The officer revealed that the annual treatment was conducted during the dry reason, for health personnel to access hard-to-reach areas.
“The treatment is usually conducted annually and during the dry season to get the targeted population, who are mostly farmers, and for access to hard-to-reach areas for ages five and above,” he said.
The Executive chairman, BSPHCDA, Dr Rilwanu Mohammed, said that 19 out of the 20 LGC were mapped out for the treatment of NTDs.
He said that the agency had also proposed a centre to treat snake bites, while also planning to support victims of dog bites as part of the NTDs.
Mohammed said that the agency had developed a monitoring tool to check diversion of NTD drugs in the state.
In her goodwill massage, Hajia Hauwa Abubakar, North East Zonal coordinator, NTD, Federal Ministry of Health, said that NTDs were preventable diseases.
She said that lack of access to potable drinking water and poor sanitation practice were the leading causes of NTDs.
Abubakar lamented the poor counterpart funding by the state government in the fight against the spread of the diseases.
Mr Nasiru Baba, State Coordinator, said that the annual event was organized by BSPHCDA with the support of MITOSATH, a Non Governmental Organization (NGO).
He appealed to residents to accept the treatment at all times to eliminate the NTDs in the society.
Earlier, the Community head of Tashan Durumi, Alhaji Hashim Dori, acknowledged that people benefited from various treatment interventions in the area.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme for the 2022 celebration was “Achieving health equality to end the neglect of poverty related diseases.
NAN