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Let’s pay extra attention to neglected tropical diseases: Noguchi
According to the Director of the institute, Professor Dorothy Yeboah-Manu, compared to other diseases, little attention has been paid to NTD in Ghana and the world over.
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She explained that NTD represents a group of 20 diseases identified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that affect the poorest and marginalised in society. “These diseases, while they do not kill many people, cause physical, psychological, and socio-economic challenges to the affected individuals and families.”
Prof Yeboah-Manu said Ghana is endemic for 14 of these diseases which include: Lymphatic Filariasis (elephantiasis), Onchocerciasis (river blindness), Schistosomiasis (blood in urine or stool), Soil-transmitted helminths (worms), Buruli ulcer, Guinea worm, Leprosy, Yaws, Human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness), Rabies, Cutaneous Leishmaniasis, Trachoma, Scabies and Snake bite envenoming.
“Diseases such as Buruli ulcer, yaws and schistosomiasis affect people with inadequate access to clean potable water. Diseases caused by worms are the result of poor access to water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities. And diseases such as elephantiasis, onchocerciasis and cutaneous leishmaniasis are transmitted through the bites of infected insects,” she stated.
“There is no reason why people should continue to suffer from these diseases. Early diagnosis and treatment are important to ensure that the effects of these diseases are minimised. Quoting statistics from the WHO, it said over 1.7 billion people are affected by NTDs worldwide; more than one in five people worldwide are affected by NTDs, and 35% of the NTD burden is in Sub-Saharan Africa.”
She said the data from a 2019 study in Ghana places the country on the 70/100 NTD mass treatment coverage index with the records that 8.81 million people received treatment in Ghana for five of the diseases and 8.41 million people did not receive treatment in Ghana.
Prof Yeboah-Manu said NMIMR is strongly involved in research into NTDs and has over the years, supported the drive towards ending these diseases through research, training, awareness creation and support to persons with NTDs.
According to her through the efforts of the Ghana Health Service and numerous partners, guinea worm has been eradicated and trachoma eliminated as a disease of public health importance.
“As part of this year’s celebration of World NTD Day, we would like to take the opportunity to thank all our collaborators for the support towards a healthy Ghana free of diseases of poverty,” it stated.
World NTD Day is celebrated every year on January 30 and is aimed at ‘translating awareness into action, securing increased resources for neglected tropical diseases, and crucially facilitating political leadership and ownership of NTD programmes from affected countries.
This year is particularly special since the focus of the theme: ‘Achieving health equity to end neglect of poverty-related diseases’, provides an opportunity for the WHO and related health institutions like the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) to concentrate efforts on the large populace who are affected by NTDs with limited or no access to medical attention for the prevention, treatment and care services to manage these diseases.
