The National Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Buruli Ulcer Control Programme (NTBLCP) on Saturday, February 3, 2018 in Abuja held a road walk to sensitise residents of the federal capital city on the dangers of leprosy.

Leprosy is a disease caused by “germ’’, a bacterium which is airborne that affects the skin.

The sensitisation was organised by NTBLCP under the auspices of the Federal Ministry of Health, in partnership with Lion’s Club, and Junior Chambers International (JCI) to commemorate the 2018 World Leprosy Day

The day is often celebrated globally every last Sunday in January and is aimed at raising awareness on the need for early detection and treatment of the disease.

Dr Adebola Lawanson, the National Coordinator of the programme, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the need to raise awareness had become important to ensure early diagnosis.

According to her, leprosy is an age long disease that requires proper awareness creation to enable people detect the signs and symptoms of the disease early enough.

“Early signs and symptoms of leprosy are skin patches, in the sense that the particular place will be lighter than other parts of the body.

“People should always take note, because when there are skin patches and you feel loss of sensation, you should suspect leprosy.

“When you burn your finger and you do not feel sensation, you need to go to the hospital for detection and medical treatment.

“The disease is curable, it is preventable if you detect it early enough, the drugs have been provided for free and the diagnosis is equally free.

“Leprosy is still here, therefore, the need for people to always take proper care of their health and go to the hospital, if they notice anything strange to ensure treatment.

“This is why we are here to sensitise the residents of Abuja on the importance of keeping their environment clean as well as practice of good hygiene to achieve zero leprosy in Nigeria.’’

In a separate interview, Mr Adebayo Peters, Focal person of the road walk, said that the sensitisation was in line with the global fights to reduce cases of leprosy to zero level.

According to Peter, who is also the Assistant Director of NTBLCP, we will achieve this by ensuring that everybody who has the signs and symptoms of leprosy is diagnosed and treated.

“By ensuring that everyone is informed on ways to access treatment, we will reduce the resultant disability that results from leprosy.

“Encouraging people to come out for early detection is one of the major ways to prevent them from disability, which is the only way we will be able to achieve zero disability,’’ Peters said.

Meanwhile, Mr Segun Aina, the Executive Vice President of JCI Nigeria, a Civil Society Organisation (CSO), told NAN that they were in partnership with government to promote awareness about dangers of the disease.

According to him, our beat is to enhance the awareness on the scourge of leprosy in the country and stem discrimination against persons with the disease.

Aina said; “what we hope to achieve is to bring down the level of discrimination considerably against people living with leprosy.

“To also let people know that leprosy is curable as against the traditional belief by people who think it is a curse and isolate affected persons.

“It is to let residents of the community know that the disease is an airborne and it is also not hereditary, therefore the need to guard against discrimination.’’

By Fortune Abang

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Integrated community case management (iCCM) is a cost-effective strategy that engages community health workers living in hard-to-reach areas to diagnose and treat three deadly but curable illnesses: malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea.

We have travelled for over two hours from Minna in Nigeria’s rural Niger State. The final 45 minutes are on unpaved roads, and we exchange nods and waves as our jostling four-wheel drive vehicle passes people walking or tending to crops. Coming to a field ringed with trees, we exit the vehicles to walk down a precipitous trail leading to the village of Etsu Gudu.

Naumi, a community educator, offers a hand when someone stumbles on the steep path. She recounts how women have given birth on the mountainside, unable to complete the ascent while in labour. Still other women leave home for up to a month before giving birth, so they can be nearer to a health facility.

This is the reality, amidst the beauty and serenity of the pastoral landscape. There is plentiful water from the river that passes next to the village – enough for puddles that attract mosquitos. There are hills that insulate the community. There are plots of land for growing bananas, palm and kola nuts, food that supports the subsistence needs of the village’s 300 inhabitants. Children find playmates outside the door of almost every single-room house. And a school stands at the edge of the clearing where we find Mohammed El Hadj, the village head.

No children have died in three years

The village elders already have gathered, and women lift themselves from the front steps where they are drying grains and cleaning and weaving palm leaves. We are here to talk about Miriam.

Miriam is the health worker who was chosen by the community because she is well-respected, literate and trusted. With medicines supplied through the WHO Rapid Access Expansion (RAcE) programme, Miriam diagnoses and treats children under the age of 5 for the 3 killer diseases – malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea – that cause 54% of child deaths in Nigeria. These diseases are preventable and curable.

In the 3 years since she was selected and completed training, no children have died in Etsu Gudu, and no children have been referred to the faraway hospital. She says, “as a mother and as a woman, I feel very happy and other married women feel happy. I enjoy the work.”

Extending health care to remote communities

Through WHO, the Government of Canada funded a 5-year grant to bring integrated community case management (iCCM) to remote communities in sub-Saharan Africa countries with a high disease burden. Nigeria, with neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo, accounts for about 40% of malaria cases and deaths worldwide.

Some key elements of effective iCCM implementation are recruitment of educated workers who live within remote communities, training and regular supervision, sustained supply of quality medicines, and community support and engagement. In Etsu Gudu, the community is saving up to buy a motorcycle that will reduce the amount of time needed to pick up the medicines each month.

Ministry leads multi-level partnership

“The programme is unique because it involves both the community and the health system,” says Dr Abosede R Adeniran, the Director of Family Health within the Nigeria Ministry of Health. “In Niger and Abia States, we now have local evidence that this is the way to go as it relates to addressing the unacceptably high under 5 mortality rate in Nigeria.”

Between 2013 and 2017, RAcE in Nigeria worked with local government and partners in Abia and Niger States to deliver activities, including recruiting and training community health workers and supporting the Ministry of Health to implement iCCM. When RAcE was implemented in these pilot states in 2013, there were 128 child deaths per 1,000 live births.

An external evaluation conducted in 2017 provides evidence that RAcE contributed to reducing child deaths in Niger and Abia states, and the Ministry of Health plans to extend iCCM to other states as part of its strategy to provide health coverage.

Equity-based programme

In areas like Etsu Gudu, the pleasures of rural life and close-knit communal living are balanced by subsistence-level incomes and limited, difficult access to health facilities. Arranging for a single sick child visit could mean missing one or more days of work, as well as costing up to one third of the family’s monthly income.

“Since iCCM came to the community, all children are safe,” says Etsu Gudu village chief, Mohammed El Hadj, offering the RAcE support team kola nuts, bananas and woven palm fans. “He who brings the kola nut, brings life,” he continues, referencing the Nigerian tradition of welcoming visitors and offering respect. “This iCCM has brought life.”

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says it will commence vaccination against yellow fever in Borno State as part of effort toward eliminating the disease in the country.

Field Communication Officer of the organisation, Mr Chima Omiekwe, who disclosed this to newsmen on Friday, February 2, 2018 in Maiduguri, said the campaign would commence on Tuesday, Feb. 6 and end on Feb. 14, 2018.

Omiekwe said that the exercise would be conducted in 288 political wards across the 25 local government areas in the state.

He explained that the campaign was aimed at reducing yellow fever transmission in line with the strategy to eliminate Yellow Fever in 2026.

He said that the target groups were between nine months to 45 years, especially among Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

Omiekwe said that no fewer than 3,000 health workers, opinion leaders, community leaders and primary teachers would be involved in the process, particularly in surveillance.

According to him, the surveillance component will enable stakeholders to rapidly detect, investigate and respond to any suspected or confirmed case of yellow fever.

“The first phase of the campaign will be conducted in some designated camps and host communities in Jere, Konduga, MMC and Mafa councils.

“We are focusing on the IDPs because of the risk assessment in camps. As you know, a lot of these IDPs are living in bad sanitary conditions.

“They are living in an environment that is prone to diseases,” he said.

He stated that about one million doses of vaccine would be administered during the period.

By Hamza Suleiman