Nigeria’s health authorities pledged Monday to wipe out neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) nationwide by the end of the decade, unveiling a multi-pronged offensive backed by surging local funding and global alliances to shield 166 million at-risk citizens from ailments long sidelined in the fight for public wellness.
The commitment, echoing the World Health Organisation’s 2030 blueprint, was hammered home at a high-stakes advocacy summit in the capital, where officials spotlighted breakthroughs that have already freed 3.5 million souls from routine drug campaigns in swathes of the country.
Dr. Adekunle Salako, Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, rallied stakeholders with a clarion call for unity, declaring: “The country was scaling up domestic financing, improving coordination, and deepening partnerships to eradicate NTDs.”b1321b
He hailed a pivotal win, noting: “3.5 million people across 109 local government areas in 17 states no longer require mass drug administration for specific NTDs,” crediting the surge to seamless teamwork among ministries, donors, and grassroots groups.
Salako, flanked by envoys from the Uniting to Combat NTDs coalition and the Global Fund, mapped out the roadmap’s backbone: turbocharged homegrown budgets fused with the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative and a sweeping Sector-Wide Approach to lock in gains against scourges like river blindness, trachoma, and lymphatic filariasis.
“ongoing sector reforms, including the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative and the Sector-Wide Approach, will sustain progress,” the minister affirmed, underscoring how these pillars aim to shatter the neglect that has let NTDs fester in poverty’s shadow.
Yet the battle rages on, with experts flagging the diseases’ stubborn grip on the underprivileged — from rural hamlets to urban slums — amid cries for more spotlight in Nigeria’s packed health docket. The WHO pegs NTDs as a thief of productivity, hooking over a billion worldwide, but Abuja’s vow signals Africa’s giant is gearing for a knockout blow.
Backed by civil society and international backers, the drive promises not just cures but a healthier workforce, potentially unlocking billions in economic vitality as treatments reach the last mile. For the millions still ensnared, Salako’s words ring as both promise and prod: eradication isn’t a dream, but a deadline etched in policy and prayer.
