UNICEF has sought the support of stakeholders in eliminating Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) in Nigeria.

Monday Johnson, UNICEF Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) specialist, made the call in Lagos at a two-day media dialogue on ending open defecation in Nigeria and eradicating NTDs.

He said NTDs were a diverse group of conditions caused by various pathogens (including viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi, and toxins) and associated with devastating health, social and economic consequences.

Referencing the Nigeria master plan for NTDs 2023 to 2027, Mr Johnson said that the country had the highest NTD burden in Africa, with more than 200 million people at risk of at least one of the diseases.

Mr Johnson, however, said WASH were critical in preventing and caring for all the 17 NTDs.

The UNICEF WASH expert noted that NTDs were associated with poverty and prevalent in areas that have poor sanitation, inadequate or no safe water sources and substandard housing conditions.

Mr Johnson said NTDs and poor access to WASH contributed to a vicious cycle of poverty and disease, adding that NTDs could lead to catastrophic health expenditure and reduced economic productivity.

He said the goal of the NTDs programme was to progressively reduce morbidity, disability, and mortality due to NTDs using integrated and cost-effective approaches to eliminate NTDs in Nigeria by 2030.

Mr Johnson noted that to eliminate NTDs by 2030, there was a need for behavioural change among the people by embracing the use of toilets and avoiding open defecation.

He said that achieving open defecation-free Nigeria should include using any form of improved toilets that prevent exposure of faeces to the environment to move up the sanitation ladder.

He advised people to cultivate the habit of disposing of faeces(human and animal) in the toilet and avoid urinating in rivers, lakes, or ponds, among other measures.

Dare Olatunji, sanitation and hygiene manager for Water Aid, said adequate provision of potable water and clean hygiene were important in achieving open defecation-free Nigeria.

Chizoma Opara, a deputy director at the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, said only 18 per cent of Nigerians, that is 37 million people, have access to safely managed sanitation services.

Ms Opara, also the national coordinator of the Clean Nigeria Campaign, noted that the national vision was that by 2030, every Nigerian would have access to safely managed sanitation hygiene facilities in cities, small town and rural communities.

(NAN)