…accuses political class of being parasitic
From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Former Acting Executive Secretary of National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Chiedu Mafiana, has highlighted the devastating effects of several Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) in some communities in Nigeria despite several years of efforts to eradicate the diseases.
Prof. Mafiana, in his inaugural lecture titled, “Audacity of parasites and imprudence of man” delivered at the headquarters of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) in Abuja, made some suggestions that he believed can be useful in tackling the different kinds of NTDs considering its peculiarities in Nigeria and Africa, by extension.
He described NTDs as a diverse group of tropical infections that are common in low-income populations in developing regions of Africa, Asia, and the Americas, and are caused by variety of pathogens, such as viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and parasitic worms (helminths).
The diseases, according to him, collectively affect health of millions of people worldwide, annually, and it causes severe disfigurement and disabilities, including blindness, developmental disabilities and malnutrition, impairment of intellectual development in children, reduced school enrolment and hindrance to economic productivity by limiting the ability of the infected individuals to work.
He said the diseases spread in an unclean environments and contaminated water or food sources in tropical and subtropical regions, and the increasing incidences of NTDs results from large-scale human migration, population growth, deterioration in public health infrastructure, and rise in tourism.
Prof. Mafiana, however, accused the political class in Nigeria of assuming some physical and physiological characteristics of parasites through their actions
He said a research he conducted on NTDs indicated that a number of the most prevalent NTDs can be controlled or eliminated through preventive chemotherapy that has proven to be safe and effective, and can be delivered in an integrated manner through mass drug administration.
He suggested that integrated control be enhanced and reinforced through the delivery of a rapid-impact package of drugs, notably, Albendazole or Mebendazole, Praziquantel, Ivermectin or Diethylcarbamazine, and Azithromycin, as the drugs can be quickly deployed by community-based distributors with rapid reductions in disabilities, improvement in well-being, and, in some cases, interruption of disease transmission.
He added: “There’s a need for increased funding support from non-governmental development organisations, in addition to a comprehensive policy framework that should be put in place to provide preventive chemotherapy packages and to develop, test, and distribute new generation of tools to control these diseases.
“Educating the at-risk population on all environmental factors that may reduce their risk; eliminating areas of standing water where mosquitoes breed would also reduce the risk of mosquito- borne diseases, while sleeping under a treated bed net will reduce the risk of diseases carried by flies that circulate at nigh
“Similarly, travellers to areas where insect-borne NTDs are widespread should endeavour to wear protective clothing, use insect repellent, and sleep under a treated bed net, and there must be encouragement for a continuous assessment of knowledge gaps in the bionomics and epidemiology of disease-agents.
“Additionally, there should be a continuous improvement in research funding at local levels, while institutions should be sufficiently empowered to initiate/establish consortia for holistic health research in any of the NTDs in communities around the catchment areas of the university, as the age-long territorial disciplines no longer exist in research involving the health of humans.”
NOUN Vice Chancellor, Prof. Olufemi Peters, in his remarks, appreciated the dept of the research work on NTDs as well as delivery style which enabled the audience to understand the content of the lecture.
NUC Acting Executive Secretary, Chris Maiyaki, said in his remarks, that he was impressed with the inaugural lecture, and appreciated the lecturer for raising the issue of NTDs which has, obviously, received less attention from government as well as local and international partners.
He congratulated Prof. Mafiana, on behalf of the NUC, encouraging him to do more research works that would herald significant changes in different areas of life in Nigeria and beyond.
Former NUC Executive Secretary, Prof. Julius Okojie, also congratulated Prof. Mafiana, for the great research work himself and his team did on the issue of NTDs which, surprisingly, is still affecting many individuals and communities in Nigeria.
