... says control, elimination 'll contribute to attainment of Universal Health Coverage,,SDGs 3
The federal government has tasked the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT,to expedite actions towards measures needed to eliminate the Neglected Tropical Diseases, NTDs in the country by 2030.
This is as the government noted that the control and elimination of the NTDs in Nigeria will contribute significantly towards attainment of the Universal Health Coverage, Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs 3 as well as poverty reduction.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Mohammad Pate, speaking yesterday in Abuja,during the high-level advocacy meeting with state commissioners of health, particularly appealed to states to rally round and mobilize the needed funding to achieve the 2030 elimination target.
Prof. Pate said his ministry is already taking decisive steps to unlock the healthcare value chain, to ensure that the needed pharmaceuticals and key medical consumables are easily accessible through domestic manufacturing, as authorised by President Bola Tinubu.
He said:"We are taking decisive steps to unlock the healthcare value chain, as authorised by Mr. President, to ensure that the needed pharmaceuticals and key medical consumables are easily accessible through domestic manufacturing. NTDs prey on poverty and social exclusion and we are determined, through our all-of-society approach, to make the desirable difference in the lives, welfare, and livelihoods of all Nigerians.
"The control and elimination of the NTDs in Nigeria will contribute significantly towards attainment of the Universal Health Coverage, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3 as well as poverty reduction, therefore all hands must be on the deck to achieve this. Let us all rally round and mobilize the needed funding in our States (create budget lines for NTDs), integrate with other disease entities and as NTD family shore up the available resources so as to achieve our 2030 elimination target."
Recall that SDG 3,being one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals,SDGs,established by the United Nations in 2015,aims to achieve universal health coverage and equitable access of healthcare services to all men and women. It proposes to end the preventable death of newborns, infants and children under five (child mortality) and end epidemics.
He expressed optimism that the meeting will facilitate high-level strategic consultations on effective ways of supporting increased coordination between the federal and state ministries of health on disease elimination efforts in Nigeria with emphasis on provision of counterpart funding for donor-funded NTD interventions, increased budgetary provision for NTD programmes (including contribution to the Reaching the Last Mile Fund), improved policy coordination between the state ministries of health and state primary healthcare development agencies, and enhanced logistics for distribution of drugs in the states and local government areas.
The minister,however,regretted that "over the years, there have been notable global and local efforts aimed at controlling and eliminating these diseases, yet significant challenges remain."
" Limited funding is one of the main challenges to sustained interventions to eliminate this group of diseases but despite these challenges, 51 countries have eliminated at least one NTD signifying opportunities to achieve the targets and objectives outlined in the WHO Roadmap for elimination of NTDs, "he said.
Speaking further, he said:"Today's event provides an opportunity to re-energize the momentum to end the suffering from these 21 diseases caused by a variety of pathogens, viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi and toxins. We shall focus attention on millions of people with little or no access to prevention, treatment and care services to counter the social determinants of health in line with the Renewed Hope Aenda and Health Sector Strategic Blueprint/SWAP agenda of the Administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
"The roll out of the ten years NTDs road map for 2021-2030 by the World Health Organization (WHO) of January 2021 sets ambitious targets and innovative approaches to tackle NTDs and provides a blueprint and direction to global elimination.
"The plan promotes an integrated approach to deliver programmes with emphasis on three significant approaches: moving from process to impact measuring for accountability, putting in place effective multi-sectoral approach/integration across NTDs, country ownership and political commitment for sustainability.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
"We are proud to say that Nigeria is one the few countries that have developed/reviewed its NTD Masterplan 2023 - 2027 which was launched in January 2023 and is being used as an advocacy tool by all stakeholders towards the attainment of 2030 target.
" Nigeria supports effort to engage with disease endemic countries, stakeholders and partners to contribute to the development of the "Kigali Declaration on NTDs" which is proof of our collective commitments in the spirit of partnership for ownership of this important document, in consonance with the WHO road map."
Recall that Neglected Tropical Diseases are communicable and non-communicable diseases largely associated with poverty and most prevalent in areas that have poor sanitation, unsafe water supply, and substandard housing conditions, prevalence mostly among children and women.
"The absence of these basic amenities are well known to have negative impact on health and social-economic development. Globally, over one billion people are affected with NTDs across 149 countries with Africa bearing about half of the global burden. Nigeria has more than 120 million people living at risk of one NTDs or the other, "the minister said.
