The Ghana Health Service and the World Health Organization have sensitized the public to the prevalence of some Neglected Tropical Diseases in the country.
The NTD Day, created in 2021 to be celebrated on January 30 every year, is to create better awareness of the devastating impact of NTDs on the poorest populations around the world.
The Director General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, speaking at the World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day celebration in 2024, said diseases cause significant morbidity and mortality globally. According to him, the diseases cause blindness, disable or disfigure people and also affect the development of infected people.
He called for inter-sectoral collaboration to maximize resources and enhance the efficiency of NTD elimination interventions.
He noted that a primary healthcare approach was essential for better integrating NTD activities into the healthcare system while maintaining close interaction between programmes to bring multiple health benefits to people in need.
The Medical Officer at the World Health Organization, Dr. Sharmila Lareef, commended the government of Ghana through the health ministry and the Ghana Health Service for not recording any cases of human African trypanosomiasis since 2013.
Ms. Sharmila further indicated that there has been significant progress in the control and elimination of NTDs. As of December 2022, 47 countries had eliminated at least one NTD and many more countries were in the process of achieving this elimination target.
Dr. Hafiz Adam Taher, the Director of NTDs at the Ministry of Health, charged parents to take their children to a hospital for early treatment of any suspected NTD symptoms instead of relying on prayers.
Dr. Hafiz added that most of these diseases do not kill but produce debilitating effects, including severe disfigurement, disability, and blindness in patients.
He said preventing and controlling NTDs is central to ending extreme poverty, and interventions currently include preventive chemotherapy, case management,t health education, and awareness creation.
