Group promises financial support for Nigeria’s NTD battle

A private philanthropic initiative, the End Fund, on Thursday, pledged to extend its funding services for the elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases in Nigeria to 2030.

NTDs are a diverse group of 20 conditions that are mainly prevalent in tropical areas, affecting more than one billion people who live in impoverished communities, according to the World Health Organisation.

They are termed ‘neglected’ because they are almost absent from the global health agenda.

The diseases are caused by a variety of pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi, and toxins.

Nigeria carries around 25 per cent of Africa’s NTD burden, making it one of the most endemic countries in the world for these debilitating conditions.

The NTDs in Nigeria include elephantiasis, soil-transmitted helminthiasis, river blindness, trachoma, schistosomiasis, snakebites, leishmaniasis, Human African Trypanosomiasis, mycetoma, rabies, leprosy, yaws, fascioliasis, and scabies.

Speaking with journalists on Thursday in Abuja, the Vice President of Programmes at The End Fund, Carol Karutu, made the pledge while speaking with newsmen during an on-the-spot assessment of Nigeria’s ongoing fight against NTDs.

“The End Fund project started in 2013. The idea of this meeting was to bring partners together, show the value of partnership, bring in investors, engage with the Ministry of Health, and examine the state of issues regarding the elimination of NTDs in conjunction with the implementing organisations and the communities, so that we can connect together, determine how more funding can come from these investors through the End Fund to the implementing partners, and understand the impact this funding has on the communities.

“So, it is important for all of us to learn, know each other, connect, and build the communities. The End Fund is an aggregator of funding; we obtain money from philanthropists and investors in different countries.

“There is still work to be done. The flagship project will end in 2030, and we hope to have a real chance to write an extraordinary story to end NTDs in Nigeria,” she explained.

The National Onchocerciasis Programme Manager at the Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Chukwuemeka Makata, however, appealed to the End Fund team for more funding to eliminate NTDs.

Makata noted that continuous support for the intervention would go a long way in saving more lives and stopping the transmission of NTDs in Nigeria.

The Country Director of the Helen Keller Foundation, Dr Aliyu Mohammed, lauded the End Fund for supporting Nigeria in its fight against NTDs.

The Senior Programme Manager for NTDs at Christian Blind Mission, Juliana Amanyi-Enegela, highlighted that her organisation had utilised the End Fund’s scale-down Mass Drug Administration for more than 500 people for lymphatic filariasis, one of the NTDs.

According to her, the End Fund has supported the Federal Capital Territory in its fight against river blindness, lymphatic filariasis, soil-transmitted diseases, and others.