Zakariyya Adaramola
9 October 2008
Lagos — About 80 per cent of Nigerians at a point in their lives, suffer arithritis, a disease characterised by pain and swelling of the joints, a consultant rheumatologist at the Olabisi Onabanjo Teaching Hospital, Dr. Akintayo Oguntona, has said.
Speaking at a summit organized for rheumatologists by Pfizer Pharmaceutical in Lagos, Dr. Oguntona said arthritis affects virtually everyone from age 45.
According to him, while there could be as many as 200 types of arthritis, osteoarthritis remains the most significant because all other types would eventually lead to it as an end point and with great cost to the individuals. But the multinational pharmaceutical company, Pfizer has assured pain specialists in Nigeria of its resolve to partner with them to provide effective management for the Nigerian patients.
Addressing the participants, the Managing Director of Pfizer, Dr. Enrico Liggeri said Pfizer would partner with the specialists in any way possible to help bring succour to millions of Nigerians suffering from different types of pain.
He disclosed that the Pain Summit was part of the company's social responsibility in Nigeria which, over the years had been broadened to include a number of health issues affecting Nigerians such as the mobilization against malaria project, HIV/AIDS project, the Diflucan Partnership initiative, cardiovascular screening, among several others.
In a speech read on his behalf by the Commercial Director, Mr. Patick Ajah, Dr. Liggeri said Pfizer, in response to the needs of the people in its area of operation, was aware that pain constitutes a serious burden in Nigeria and would try as much as possible to help address the situation by providing access to all the medicines in its pain portfolio in addition to creating awareness among the populace on how to cope with the disease while also collaborating with the Nigerian medical community in improving understanding of the mechanism and management of pain.
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