Ebonyi records sharp drop in NTD cases with Carter Center backing – State Govt 

The Ebonyi state government said it has successfully reached over 1.5 million Ebonyians in the last year through school-based and community-based deworming and other interventions in Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs).

 

This, the government said it achieved with support from international partners, especially the Carter Centre.

 

Dr. Moses Ekuma, the State Commissioner for Health disclosed this in a Press briefing on Friday in his office in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi state capital.

 

The briefing was part of activities to mark the year 2026 deferred World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Day in the state.

 

Ekuma explained that the state has, through expanded care for those already living with disabilities from NTDs, collaboration with other concerned ministries to provide clean water and improved sanitation and hygiene, drastically reduced both the incidence and the rate of morbidity from NTDs.

 

He also added that the state in collaboration with the Carter centre has intervened through many hydrocele surgeries and lymphedema management training for caregivers.

 

According to him, the “People’s Charter of Needs” mantra of Governor Nwifuru’s administration in the state has prioritized the health and dignity of Ebonyi people, adding that the day’s observance was a reaffirmation of government’s commitment to ensuring that no citizen is held back by diseases the state has the power to eliminate.

 

Ekuma explained: “In Nigeria, progress has been substantial, with a reported 49% reduction in Soil- Transmitted Helminth (STH) prevalence and a 75% reduction in Schistosomiasis in survey areas.

 

“In Ebonyi State, our proximity to water bodies and our agrarian nature once made us a focal point for many of these conditions.

 

“However, through consistent Mass Administration of Medicines (MAM), we are turning the tide.”

 

 

The Commissioner described NTDs as a group of preventable and treatable diseases that continue to affect the world’s most vulnerable populations, constituting a major barriers to education, economic productivity, and social inclusion, particularly in underserved rural communities.

 

Such diseases, according to the Commissioner include Lymphatic Filariasis (Elephantiasis), Onchocerciasis (River Blindness), Schistosomiasis, and Soil-Transmitted Helminths (Intestinal Worms), among others.

 

Speaking on the theme for the years commemoration: “Unite to Act towards Elimination of NTDs”, Ekuma said it was a clarion call on all and sundries including traditional rulers, religious leaders, and civil society to join hands with the government to eradicate NTDs in the state in line with the World Health Organisation’s 2030 Roadmap, stressing that Health is a collective responsibility.

 

He urged residents of the state to always accept NTD medicines when brought to their communities describing the drugs as both safe, free, and effective.

 

He also enjoined Ebonyi people to always maintain clean and hygienic environment, patronise healthcare centres promptly if they notice unusual swelling of the limbs or persistent skin irritations.

 

Appreciating the Carter Centre for their huge support to the state, especially in the control, management and prevention of NTDs, the Permanent Secretary, Lawrence Ezeogo and the state cordinator of NTDs in the state Ministry of Health, Daniel Itumo, said the centre’s interventions, coupled with Governor Nwifuru’s unfettered interest in the health sector has greatly reduced disabilities due to NTDs and enhanced general performance of the state health sector.

 

While Ezeogo disclosed that the Carter Centre has sponsored over 150 hydrocele surgeries in the state, Itumo informed that the centre is also supporting coverage evaluation survey which is currently ongoing in the state.

 

In her remarks, Mrs Egeonu Isiani Atama, the Programme Officer for the Carter Centre, in charge of Ebonyi and Enugu states, said the cooperative attitude of Ebonyi citizens to health partners has continued to remain a boost to their activities in the state.

 

Extending the goodwill of the Centre’s country representative, Dr. Emmanuel Miri, she assured the Commissioner that she would continue to ensure that whatever is due to the state from the Carter Centre gets to it with dispatch, pledging the Centre’s unrelenting support to eliminate NTDs in the state.

 

The Carter Centre is a non-profit, humanitarian foundation founded by the late former President of the United states of America, Jimmy Carter.

 

The foundation supports interventions in so many areas in different countries ranging from peace building, health, to women and youth.

The briefing was preceded with a road walk aimed at creating awareness about NTDs.

 

World NTD day is observed annually on January 30.