Ondo State Government says it has started the building of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) clinic to tackle the menace of the diseases in the state.

Francis Akanbiemu, the permanent secretary of the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (OSPHDA), stated this on Monday during a media advocacy on NTDS in Akure.

Mr Akanbiemu said that the government was working assiduously to complete the special clinic by June 2023. 

He said the clinic, when completed, would allow those infected with NTDs to receive healthcare services, adding that the clinic would be the first of its kind in Nigeria.

The permanent secretary said the clinic would partner with some teaching hospitals for appropriate diagnosis and adequate treatment of NTDs.

He described NTDs as devastating diseases, which many people do not pay attention to, adding patients usually suffered from emotional trauma.

Mr Akanbiemu said that the government was collaborating with the media to inform residents of the state that they should seek medical services in health facilities nearest to them when going through any health challenge. 

According to him, all hands must be on deck to address NTDs because of the dangers they constitute in society. 

Also speaking, the NTDs coordinator in the state, Olufunke Ajomole, said out of 20 NTDs, only five were found in the state. 

She said the media advocacy was to create awareness and inform the people of the state that anyone with such diseases would be treated for free.

Ms Ajomole explained that drugs were available in all the 18 local government areas of the state, which she said, would be taken once a year. 

In his remarks, the representative of the World Health Organization (WHO), Davis Dele, said that the organisation would continue to support the state government in tackling NTDs.

(NAN)