Underreported disease killing Nigerians more than Ebola, Lassa fever

August 22, 2020, 6:52 am

While Nigeria and other sub-Saharan African countries battle different kinds of virus infections and diseases, there are still other existing and emerging diseases that is silently recording colossal human mortality. One of such is Noma disease, which has silently been killing more Nigerians than Lassa fever and Ebola combined. ROLAND OBY OGBONNAYA looks at the efforts being made by governments and non-governmental organisations to battle Noma, known as poor man disease, to a halt and save more lives

John grew up recognising his mother looks different from other women in the community. Growing up as an innocent boy, John was often embarrassed and humiliated by children including adults because of the looks of his mother. As he grew more elderly, he realised that his mother’s condition could be treated though it was expensive and could solely be done in the city. Armed with this new knowl­edge, John made a promise to himself and to his mother that he was going to work hard to be able to pay for her surgery.

He desired nothing but a tra­ditional look for his mother. He wanted her to look like the other women in the community and stop the people from embarrass­ing his family. It was during one of his typical routines at the city centre that John came in contact with the Oral Health Advocacy Initiative (OHAI) experienced team of community mobilisers and volunteers who were promot­ing public awareness for dental and oral health including noma, cleft lip and palate surgeries in Gombe State

Physiotherapist volunteer Terry Rogan takes Josephine Kunene, who is hooked up to supplementary oxygen, through a series of exercises to aid recovery at the Nasrec field hospital.

(Photo: Chris Collingridge)

On Friday 21 August, the Gauteng Provincial Command Council gave its latest update on the province’s Covid-19 response as the country went into Level 2 lockdown.

Human Settlements MEC Lebogang Maile gave an update on the ward-based ‘war rooms’ that have been set up in the province following a need for a strong municipal focus to combat Covid-19.

CLOSE

He said the aim of this approach was to accelerate service delivery and greater efficiency in implementing local government projects. Fulfilling the mandate of these war rooms were 350 community development workers, 1,078 community health workers and 30,000 other community workers.

Education head of department, Edward Mosuwe, gave a summary of the social relief efforts the province had been undertaking. He said that during lockdown Levels 5, 4 and 3, the province had distributed 485,000 food parcels which benefited over two million people.

Furthermore, 273 food gardens had been established, some of them at schools. An additional 62 gardens would be added soon.

In terms of education, he said that under Level 2, more learners were now going back to school, and the department was prioritising health and safety for the over 1.5 million learners resuming classes.

He reported that 99% of regular schools were open, as well as 78% of special needs schools. Mosuwe added that schools not yet open were still closed as a result of reported Covid-19 cases.

He said everything was on track for the matric class of 2020 to write their final exams on 5 November and finish on 15 December, with results expected out on 23 February 2021.

Head of the law enforcement and compliance department, Tilda Gasela, said there would be continued vigilance and monitoring of compliance with regulations, especially in identified hotspots. She said her department had been educating people on the regulations.

Gasela said Park Station had been identified as a hotspot and that a compliance notification had been issued to the Metrorail CEO. She warned that officials would be conducting unannounced spot checks, particularly on businesses that sold alcohol for both on and off site consumption.

The Gauteng health department report said the daily Covid-19 infection rates had now decreased from an average of 7,000 to just over 3,000. There was, however, a concern that some patients were presenting themselves late to health facilities, or ignoring symptoms entirely.

Hypertension was identified as a leading contributor to deaths in the province, accounting for 24% of fatalities. This was followed by diabetes at 14%.

Gauteng has not reduced testing despite a drop in infections. The province is responsible for 33% of all tests done nationwide.

The report also showed that the rate of hospitalisation had dropped significantly, and it was hoped that Covid-19 patients would eventually account for fewer than 1,000 of those hospitalised. The department also says it is monitoring PPE stock on an ongoing basis, using the Impilo app.

A total of 7,336 public officials (including health workers and educators) have tested positive since March. They and their families are receiving psycho-social support, as determined by WHO guidelines, and will continue to do so even beyond Covid-19.

All public buildings were undergoing continuing decontamination and public servants were observing medical surveillance protocols in the form of daily screenings and testing referrals.

Asked what will happen to field hospitals like the Nasrec facility, health department head, Prof Mkhululi Lukhele, said Nasrec will remain as it is in case of an anticipated second wave of the disease.

On the issue of health department officials who have been suspended on suspicion of corruption, Lukhele said investigations will be continuing over a period of 60 days.

As of 20 August in Gauteng, there were 202,955 reported cases of Covid-19 and 169,299 recoveries. DM/MC