Lagos — After 20 years of establishing the Nigeria Guinea Worm Eradication Programme (NIGEP), the disease is yet to be eradicated, the acting Minister of Health, Dr Hassan Lawal, said yesterday in Abuja.

Speaking at a news conference to mark the 2008 National Guinea Worm Day, Lawal attributed the development to lack of potable water in the rural areas.

NIGEP was established in 1988 by the federal government with a mandate to coordinate activities leading to the eradication of the disease.

The acting minister said that Guinea Worm could be contracted through the consumption of contaminated water.

"Man gets infected by the consumption of water that is contaminated with infected "Cyclops" carrying the infected larvae of Guinea Worm," he said.

He said at the inception of NIGEP in 1988, 653,620 Guinea Worm cases were identified throughout the country in 5,879 villages. He said that with concerted efforts, the figure had dropped to 16 in 10 villages in six local government areas in six states across the country in December 2006.