The Akwa Ibom state government has said that it would fund 231 primary healthcare centres to tackle rising cases of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) in the state.
The Commissioner of Health, Prof. Augustine Umoh, disclosed this at a press conference on Friday, as part of activities marking the 2022 World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day.
Umoh listed ongoing efforts by the government to reactivate the primary healthcare sector as one of the steps to tackle NTDs in the state.
The state government has earmarked the 231 primary health centres to benefit from funds made available to revamp the sector, he added.
The commissioner blamed the prevalence of neglected tropical diseases in the state to poverty, poor hygiene and common low-income populations, as reasons for the diseases.
“According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), NTDs were prevalent in areas with a high level of poverty, poor sanitation, poor access to potable water supply, poor housing conditions and poor access to qualitative health care services and ignorance,” Umoh said.
The commissioner said that in 2019, the Akwa Ibom government NTDS programme achieved 75 per cent therapeutic coverage in the five highest burden NTDs.
Umoh said that a lot of work still needed to be done in the area of sensitisation of the general populace on the need for proper environmental sanitation and improved personal hygiene.
According to him, open defecation, drinking of unclean potable water were causes of neglected tropical diseases and warned residents in the state.
“Furthermore, to give credence to the giant strides being recorded by the state in the fight against NTDs, in the second week of Feb. 2021 a Pre-Transmission Assessment Survey (TAS) was conducted in Uruan LGA.
”The local government, a Lymphatic Filariasis endemic LGA, passed the survey carried out by the Federal Ministry of Health.
“It is instructive to note that was the first time such an exercise was being conducted in the state.
“A similar survey had also been conducted in Eastern-Obolo, Etim-Ekpo and Ikot-Ekpene LGAs of the state about a week ago.
”It is our hope that when the results are released by the Federal Ministry of Health, the state will still pass,” he said.