Nigeria races to meet global target of cutting premature deaths by 25% in 2025
Nigeria is racing against time to curtail rising cases of premature deaths especially from Non communicable disease (NCDs) and in a bid to fight the menace in Nigeria, the Nigeria NCD alliance has brought together experts to discuss how to stem tide by strengthening the country’s health system.
Major NCDs prevalent in Nigeria includes cardiovascular diseases (e.g. hypertension, coronary heart diseases and stroke); cancer; diabetes mellitus; sickle cell disease; chronic respiratory diseases (e.g. COPD, asthma); mental, neurological and substance use disorders; violence and road traffic injuries; and oral health disorders.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) global NCD action plan 2013-2020 and the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development Goals has set a target by 25% to reduce overall premature mortality from NCDs by 2025 and reduce by 33% overall premature mortality from NCDs and promote mental health and well-being by 2030.
“Achieving the global target of 25% lowering of premature death by 2025 is going to be very difficult because there are so many things that needs to go into it, we are near it, but we may not get the 25%,” said Sonny Kuku, president, Nigeria NCD Alliance at the two-day workshop of 24 member Nigeria NCD alliance in Lagos on Monday.
Kuku stated that it is so easy if we can catch them young especially at 50 for hypertension and not at 70 when the heart is already damaged. “This workshop is to sensitize the civil society organisations and the Non-governmental organisations to become advocate of NCDs especially those who have their goals related to NCDs”
“To kick start the process of bringing this epidemics under some control, what we have done really is to send questionnaires to all of them and a selected few both the government and private sector, we are going to collate and also look at the goals and target set by the global NCDS and WHO and how we can enable people in this country to get these targets right”
The Nigeria NCD president said the country needs concerted effort properly planned to prevent disease, create more awareness and make management of NCDs free.
“One of the ways is to integrate NCDs into PHCs and fund them and also provide personnel that will tell the people about NCD. We can use the same process used in driving the prevalence of HIV and Aids down for NCDs”.
“We also want to put pressure on the ministry to create special fund for the national health insurance scheme to fund NCDs and community based insurances which will be funded by budgeting especially local government funds.
Nnenna Ezeigwe, Director/National Coordinator, Non-Communicable Diseases Division Federal Ministry of Health, Abuja represented by Malua Mangaltona on his presentation Nigeria’s progress towards achieving the global NCD agenda said the national survey on NCD will take of this year, 2018.
“We are hoping that by the first quarter the survey will take place and we also computing it this year. It supposed to have taken off last year but due financial constraint, we are mobilising resources with the help of health minister
According to him, the national survey is going to cover the length and breadth of this country on the major NCDs, it is a nationwide survey and it is going to capture the major NCDs and the risk factors.
“The benefit to the country is that the information will support the country particularly the FMOH in developing policies and budgeting of resources because when you do not plan, you will find it difficult to allocate resources.
The survey is also going to help us do a lot of advocacy to partners because when you have the survey result, you will do adequate advocacy to canvass for support, therefore there will be result to show partners and they will also have a database.
Also contributing on addressing this issues, Kingsley Akinroye, president Nigerian Heart Foundation said the country needs to inquire into the strengths and weakness of the current polices and its implementations, We know the prevalence of hypertension in Nigeria is more than 30% in the adult population, the reason for setting the target is for us to measure and work towards achieving it.
“As of now we do not have a target, although we have national NCD plan. Nigeria needs to come out and set a target for NCD so that all relevant ministries and agencies will key into towards achieving those targets”, he added.
Speaking to a participant Chiwuike Uba, chairman, board of trustees, Amaka Chiwuike- Uba Foundation said the workshop is holding in respect of those working with the NCDs in Nigeria and our foundation is working with the area of Asthma.
“The benefit of this workshop is to unite stakeholders, if we are not in alliance, it appears that most of the things we are doing is done in non-coordinated form. But this alliance, will help us to work in a coordinated ways with others to achieve specific activities directed to your own mandate, and to the other hand will also help them to achieve their own mandate. And above all to achieve the national NCDs on SDGs targets” he added.
ANTHONIA OBOKOH