‘Check Five NTDs, Save $12bn, 23 million Lives’

Nigeria  is in a position to
save $12 billion just by making deliberate and sustained efforts at controlling or eliminating the five most common Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs).
This revelation was contained in  new data released recently at an event hosted by the End fund, an international philanthropic organisation, alongside the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa in Kigali, Rwanda, and made available to The Tide. The data, which was  developed by Kigali-based Erasmus University, with support from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, states that sub-saharan Africa as a whole could save $52 billion from doing same.
This is, however, dependent on if the continent meets the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s 2020 targets of controlling or eliminating the five most common NTDs.
The diseases are: Lymphatic filariasis, commonly known as elephantiasis; onchocerciasis (River Blindness); Schistosomiasis (Bilharzia); Soil-Transmitted Helminths (intestinal worms); and Trachoma.
According to the data, if Nigeria is able to meet the WHO’s 2020 targets of controlling or eliminating the five most common NTDs, the country will also avert the equivalent of over 23 million years of life that would have otherwise been lost to ill-health, disability and early death.
The WEF Africa-sanctioned event, convened by the END fund, was aimed at making a case for increased investment in NTD Control in Sub-Saharan Africa.
In her opening remark at the event, the First Lady of Rwanda, Mrs Jeannette Kagame, set the stage for the important discussion.
She noted that meeting the WHO’s 2020 targets could also help Sub-Saharan Africa gain the equivalent of 100 million life-years that would otherwise be lost to ill-health, disability and early death arising from the five most common NTDs.
Also speaking at the occasion, the Chief Executive Officer of the END fund, Ellen Agler, noted that “NTD control efforts offer a return on investment, unparalleled in global health”.
She added that, “ending these debilitating diseases will help reduce poverty at all levels, from families and communities to whole nations”.
Fortunately for Nigeria, though the country is affected by all five diseases, much work is on-going to prevent and treat NTDs.
The NTDs are a diverse group of parasitic and bacterial infectious diseases that are particularly prevalent in areas with limited access to safe water, proper sanitation, and adequate medical services.

Sogbeba Dokubo