As part of efforts aimed at eliminating neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in Nigeria, the END Fund, a private philanthropic initiative, is partnering IHS Nigeria, to tackle diseases, which has spread wide in Ekiti State.
According to the World Health Organisation, more than 134 million Nigerians require treatment for one or more NTDs, with 48 million children and adults affected by intestinal worms and 25 million affected by schistosomiasis.
With the sad reality that the country bears approximately 40 per cent of Africa’s NTD burden, the partnership with IHS Nigeria is supporting the safe delivery of life-changing treatments to affected communities in Ekiti.
Chief Corporate Services Officer, IHS Nigeria, Dapo Otunla, said its robust programme in Ekiti State involves funding preventive treatment for endemic NTDs, supporting the effective deployment of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) measures, and working to end open defecation and its detrimental impact on the people of the state – including the contribution of the unhealthy practice to the state’s NTD burden.
He said: “As a business, we have invested in improving WASH practices across Nigeria, in which thousands of households across the country have been impacted so much so that last year, the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, through the Minister of Water Resources, awarded our Nigeria Chief Executive Officer, Mohamad Darwish, a WASH Ambassador status under the Clean Nigeria Campaign.
The Guardian learnt the planned donation from IHS Nigeria would enable END Fund to deliver thousands of treatments to those most affected by Onchocerciasis, Lymphatic Filariasis, Schistosomiasis and Soil-Transmitted Helminthiasis; reducing the suffering, disability and poor health caused by these diseases, and significantly improving the quality of life of the recipients.
