Health and Life Style
Top 3 States Combating Neglected Tropical Diseases In Nigeria
Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) are viral, parasitic and bacterial diseases that mainly affect the world’s poorest people.
They are also regarded as a diverse group of communicable diseases that prevail in tropical and subtropical conditions in about 149 countries globally and affect more than one billion people across the world. js">
The governments of Ondo State, Ekiti State and Osun State are on top of the list of the governments working to tame this diseases as they are not complacent or leaving anything to chance in its preparedness or response to cases of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), its health officials have said.
The diseases to include Lymphatic Filariasis (Elephantiasis), Soil Transmitted Helminthiasis (STH), Onchocerciasis (River blindness), Trachoma (Granular Conjunctivitis) and Schistosomiasis (Bilharzia).
Others are: Rabbies, Leprosy, Yaws, Snakebites, Leishmaniasis, Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT), Mycetoma and Fascioliasis.
Investigations by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in the states shows that the government and its international partners including Mithosath and UNICEF have sustained the response to NTDs through sensitisation of the populace, provision of potable water, treatment and ensuring clean environments.
The Ondo State Coordinator of the Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), Mrs Olanike Oladipupo, said that the state government was working assiduously with all stakeholders in addressing cases of NTDs across the state.
In an interview with NAN in Akure Oladipo said “there is collaboration with the Ministry of Water Resources to ensure that everybody in the state has potable water to drink and use.
“We do enjoin our people to avoid the use of stream or ocean water. People can easily contract infection or diseases such as schistosomiasis and onchocerciasis from such sources because black flies lay their eggs there.
“ Government is also working in earnest to clear drain channels across the state . There was a project carried out in recent time in collaboration with the University of Osun and Ondo State Government whereby some rivers in Ondo State were cleared.
“The aim of the project was to reduce black flies in some communities in the state. If there is reduction, the rate of bite and transmission will be reduced as well,” she said.
The NTDs coordinator said that the Ministry of Environment was also educating residents of the state on proper disposal of their wastes, saying there was aggressive campaign for adherence to environmental sanitation on regular basis to prevent outbreak of diseases in the state.
According to her, the state government is in partnership with Mithosath, a Non-Governmental Development Organisation and UNICEF in addressing NTDs in the state.
“ We have been collaborating with Mithosath, an NGO, and UNICEF so that there is proper dissemination of information about NTDs and the treatment across the 18 local government areas of the state.
“As it is known, government cannot do it all, other stakeholders should support.
“ The partnership enables us to get to people at the community level and they are in charge of NTDs programmes, so that no one will be left behind about NTDs and what they can do to prevent the diseases and the treatment.
“In that, Mithosath is helping the state to ensure that people have access to preventive chemotherapy like worm repellants and other necessary things.
“Those are the drugs given to people during mass campaign. Nobody is paying for the drugs and it’s for everybody.
“Before we distribute, we carry out powerful advocacy in all local government areas so that people will come out in large numbers to access the drugs. And they will use them in our presence, that is Directly Observed Therapy (DOT).
“ UNICEF is also doing a great job as regards this. It ensures hygiene promotion such as a programme called WASH, giving support to the government so that people will not bathe in rivers and streams nor defecate there. They also provide logistics,” she said.
Oladipupo explained that some of the NTDs could be prevented even without taking drugs, depending on one’s attitude to cleanliness and proper hygiene.
She said that through the partnership with the Mithosath many affected by NTDs across the three senatorial districts of the state had benefitted from surgical operations.
“There is Morbidity Management and Disability Prevention. This also goes to Mithosath in supporting the state. Some people that have hydrocele, that is swelling in their scrotum and those with lymphatic filariasis have access to free surgery.
“ The phase one was done in Idanre in the Central Senatorial District and the phase two was done in Okitipupa in the Southern Senatorial District of the state while the third phase is ongoing now as I speak with you in Ikare Akoko in the Northern Senatorial District.
“ The most common NTDs in the state are: schistosomiasis, which is a water-borne infection, lymphatic filariasis; onchocerciasis which is also known as river blindness and it is caused by black flies and soil transmitted helminthiasis, which is worm disease, and it is common among school age children.
“ The state government has intervention of distributing worm tablets to them so that their growth will not be stunted,” she said.
Also, the Ekiti Government says modern best practices at sustaining quick responses and preparedness to outbreak of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), among others, are being adopted by the state.
The Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr Oyebanji Filani made this known in an interview with the NAN in Ado-Ekiti.
He said Neglected Tropical Diseases, NTD’s are not new and as such are being tackled headlong.
“The state government therefore is doing everything humanly possible to prevent such diseases from escalating in identified communities.
“We are in collaboration with various multi-national agencies, among which is Mitosath, working with Ekiti State Primary Health Care Development Agency (ESPHCDA), to fight NTDs,” Filani said.
He assured that for now, Neglected Tropical Diseases are under control in the state
” Presently the state is distributing drugs, I mean mass distribution, to pre-school and school age children, to prevent transmission,” he said.
A community health doctor at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido-Ekiti, Dr Ipinmoye Taiwo, identified poor awareness, especially among people in rural communities, as a challenge to ending the spread of the diseases.
“The diseases are called neglected because they tend to affect the world’s poorest, and yet, receive less attention than other diseases,” he said.
He called on governments at the national and state levels to get involved in ending NTDs and its spread across the country.
In Osun, the state government has put in place measures to fully monitor, combat and control any outbreak of diseases, Dr Abiodun Boladale, an official in charge of NTDs in the Ministry of Health, has said.
Boladale said that the department of public health in the ministry was on top of situation and highly prepared to respond to emergencies in the state.
“Lasa Fever and Covid outbreaks equipped the state for emergencies and presently we have emergencies operation centres in the state where diseases are monitored.
“NTDs are among the diseases we are monitoring on the dashboard of the centres.
“We also have ‘Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response Unit’, which form part of the team monitoring diseases relating to NTDs.
“We are working with Disease Surveillance Monitoring Officers and Disease Notification Officers at the local level to stay on top of diseases’ outbreaks in the state.
“We also have NTDs officers at the local level who keep the ministry informed and document diseases outbreaks.” he said
Boladale said in case of outbreak of NTD outbreak, the state would follow national guidelines in managing them.
He said some foreign partners and organisations, in conjunction with the Federal Government, had been providing drugs and other medical support to the state to handle NTDs.
The official said that the Osun State University recently received a research grant for Schistosomiasis, a major NTD peculiar to the state.
NAN
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Health and Life Style
Kogi L-PRES Project Takes Delivery of Vaccines for Transboundary Animal Disease
From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja
The Kogi State Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support (Kogi L-PRES) Project, has taken delivery of its allocated vaccines from the L-PRES National Coordination Office, Abuja for mass vaccination against major Transboundary Animal Diseases (TADs) in Nigeria
The vaccination program under the L-PRES Project aims to improve animal health, enhance livestock productivity, food safety and security in Nigeria.
The vaccines were received in Lokoja, by the State Project Coordinator (SPC), Mr Abdulkabir Onoruoyiza Otaru and handed over to the Honourable Commissioner for Livestock Development, Dr Olufemi Bolarin.
Dr Bolarin commended the Federal Government’s initiative, saying the vaccines will benefit livestock farmers; pastoralists, poultry and small ruminant farmers in the state.
“The impact of this initiative is an increase in the livestock productivity as it would improve animal health,” he said.
Mr. Otaru, the Project Coordinator, described the vaccine delivery as a “critical intervention” that would enhance livestock productivity in Kogi State.
According to him, the vaccines include 200,000 Doses of CBPP vaccines, 30,000 Doses of Newcastle Disease vaccines (NCDV), and 3,000 Doses of Foot and Mouth Disease vaccines (FMDV).
The SPC explained that the vaccines would be administered to livestock at the 64 value chain clusters across the 21 LGAs of the state.
Mr Otaru noted that the vaccines would be stored in a cold chain facility established by the Kogi L-PRES project at the Ministry of Livestock Development in Kogi State.
He thanked the National Project Coordinator, Dr Sanusi Abubakar, for his result oriented leadership and the support to Kogi State.
Barr. Ken Agim, Legal Advisor, L-PRES Project, Abuja, who delivered the vaccines, stated that the initiative aligns with the federal government’s efforts to boost the livestock sector.
“The vaccines, procured by the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development through L-PRES, aim to combat transboundary and other diseases affecting livestock nationwide.
“The vaccines are being distributed simultaneously to all 36 states and the FCT, expected to enhance livestock productivity, resilience, and contribute to the economy.
“This follows a similar distribution exercise in 2024, which yielded positive results in boosting livestock productivity,” Agim said.
The move is seen as a step towards controlling TADs and boosting livestock productivity in the state.
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Health and Life Style
Varsity Scholar X-rays Findings On Remote Work
From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja
Mrs. Oluwanifesimi Ibikunle, a scholar and lead author of a research group, from the Department of Project Management at the University of Northampton, in an interview with Our Correspondent, X-rayed her findings on remote work as well as new research which reveals why flexibility alone doesn’t guarantee employee satisfaction
Speaking on the Workplace Report of February 6th 2026, Ibikunle said that her research also reveals that Remote Work Makes IT Staff Happier, But Only When Done Right
According to her “Working from home has transformed from an occasional perk to a defining feature of the information technology sector, but new research reveals that simply allowing remote work doesn’t automatically make employees happier.
“A conceptual study published in the International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Development examines why some IT professionals thrive working remotely whilst others struggle, despite having the same flexible arrangements. The findings challenge the assumption that location independence alone drives satisfaction.
“Remote work isn’t inherently good or bad for satisfaction,” explains Oluwanifesimi Ibikunle from the Department of Project Management at the University of Northampton, the study’s first author. “What matters is whether employees experience genuine autonomy, maintain strong relationships with their organisations, and receive adequate support for managing work boundaries.”
“The research identifies three critical factors that distinguish satisfying remote work from problematic arrangements: the quality of autonomy employees experience, the strength of their organisational relationships, and the adequacy of structural support for managing work-life boundaries.
“True autonomy means more than choosing where to work,” notes Dr Temiloluwa Ajibade from Health Business School at Health Science University in London. “It means having genuine control over how and when work gets done, being trusted to manage your own schedule, and having authority to make decisions without constant oversight. When remote work simply relocates micromanagement from the office to Zoom, satisfaction suffers.”
“Social Exchange Theory provides a lens for understanding these dynamics. When remote employees believe their organisation cares about their wellbeing, provides necessary resources, and values their contributions, satisfaction increases substantially. “The strength of organisational relationships doesn’t depend on physical proximity,” argues Dr Kennedy Oberhiri Obohwemu, Senior Researcher and Project Coordinator of PENKUP Research Institute in Birmingham. “What matters is whether employees feel valued, supported, and connected to organisational goals.”
“Work-life balance emerges as particularly complex. Flexibility theoretically allows better integration of professional and personal responsibilities, but the same flexibility can create work-life blur where boundaries dissolve and work expands to fill all available time.
“Work-life balance requires boundaries, not just flexibility,” observes Dr Christianah Adekunbi Falade from the Department of Business Management at Scholars School System in Bradford. “Remote workers need clear expectations about when they’re available, explicit permission to disconnect outside working hours, and organisational cultures that respect boundaries rather than expecting constant responsiveness.”
Individual circumstances matter enormously. “We can’t treat remote work as a one-size-fits-all solution,” notes Dr Charles Leyman Kachitsa from Leeds Trinity University. “What works brilliantly for one employee might be terrible for another depending on their living situation, personality, work style, and life stage.”
The IT sector’s technical sophistication creates a paradox. “IT professionals are comfortable with technology but that doesn’t mean they’ve figured out healthy ways to use it,” observes Oladipo Vincent Akinmade from the Digital Health and Rights Project at the University of Warwick. “Being able to work anywhere, anytime through digital tools doesn’t mean you should. The always-on culture enabled by technology can be particularly intense in the IT sector.”
“The findings offer practical guidance. “Remote work requires deliberate organisational design,” argues Oluwafemi Emmanuel Ooju from the World Health Organisation in Abuja. “You can’t just tell people to work from home and expect everything to work out. Organisations need policies on availability expectations, investment in collaboration technology, and mechanisms for maintaining organisational culture.”
“Trust matters more than surveillance. Dr Eddy Eidenehi Esezobor from Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia notes: “Some organisations respond to remote work with monitoring software that tracks activity. This approach undermines the autonomy that makes remote work satisfying, treating employees as potential shirkers rather than trusted professionals.”
“Future research needs to examine long-term effects. “Most research examines short-term satisfaction, but questions remain about career development, innovation, and sustainability of remote arrangements over many years,” observes Daniel Obande Haruna from St. Mary’s University in London.
“The question isn’t whether remote work is good or bad,” concludes Dr Festus Ituah from Regent College in London. “It’s under what conditions remote work supports satisfaction, wellbeing, and performance. Understanding those conditions allows organisations to design practices that genuinely enhance employee experience rather than just reducing office costs whilst calling it flexibility.”
“The research, “Remote Working and Employee Satisfaction in the Information Technology Sector: A Conceptual Reappraisal Grounded in Wellbeing and Work Experience,” appears in the International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Development, Volume 3, Issue 2. The study was conducted by researchers from institutions across the UK, Spain, and Nigeria, with support from PENKUP Research Institute in Birmingham.
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Health and Life Style
He-RIN Accuses Health Ministry of Deliberately Sabotsging Local Manufacturers of Mosquito nets
By AbdulRahman Obaje
The Health Reform Initiative Nigeria (He-RIN),has rejected the SNG Health Agreement signed with the Federal Ministry of Health, describing it as self-serving, deceptive and a deliberate attempt to cripple existing local mosquito net manufacturers.
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In a statement signed for He-RIN by Sunday Tobi, Executive Director and Abdul Musa Secretary 24 December 2025, HE-RIN further revealed that the arrangement is merely a continuation of the activities of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), which it said previously dominated the sector under questionable circumstances
The full statement read, “The Health Reform Initiative Nigeria (He-RIN), a civil society organisation advocating health sector reform through increased funding, accountability and local capacity building, has rejected the SNG Health Agreement signed with the Federal Ministry of Health, describing it as self-serving, deceptive and a deliberate attempt to cripple existing local mosquito net manufacturers.”
“In a joint statement issued on Wednesday by its Executive Director, Sunday Tobi, and Secretary, Abdul Musa, He-RIN condemned the agreement that led to a partnership between Vestergaard and Harvestfield, culminating in the formation of SNG Health for the supply of mosquito nets in Nigeria.”
“According to the organisation, the arrangement is merely a continuation of the activities of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), which it said previously dominated the sector under questionable circumstances.”
“From available evidence widely reported in the media weeks ago, the so-called SNG Health was incubated by UNOPS at the instance of the Federal Ministry of Health through a Swiss company, in collaboration with the World Bank Nigeria, which operates as a sister organisation to UNOPS,” the statement said”
“He-RIN accused the Ministry of Health of deliberately undermining local manufacturers of insecticide-treated mosquito nets, tracing Nigeria’s persistent malaria burden and failure to significantly reduce malaria-related deaths to what it described as the ministry’s collusion with UNOPS years before the Bola Tinubu administration assumed office in 2023.”
“The group noted that Nigeria continues to bear the heaviest malaria burden globally. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) World Malaria Report, Nigeria accounts for approximately 27 per cent of global malaria cases and 31 per cent of malaria-related deaths, with an estimated 184,000 deaths annually, mostly among children under five and pregnant women.”
“He-RIN further stated that this grim outcome persists despite substantial public spending on health. Data from the Budget Office of the Federation show that Nigeria’s health sector has consistently received only 4–6 per cent of the annual national budget, far below the 15 per cent Abuja Declaration benchmark.”
“In the 2024 Federal Budget, the health sector received approximately N1.3 trillion, representing just over five per cent of total government expenditure.”
“On malaria-specific investments, the organisation disclosed that Nigeria has received and deployed over N1.5 billion for malaria control interventions between 2015 and 2023, according to figures from the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) and partner funding disclosures.”
“These funds, largely provided by the Global Fund, World Bank, USAID and UN agencies, were primarily spent on the procurement and distribution of insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITNs), indoor residual spraying, diagnostics and antimalarial medicines.”
“Despite this scale of investment, Nigeria continues to struggle with malaria control due to policy inconsistency, excessive reliance on imported mosquito nets, weak local manufacturing capacity and opaque procurement practices,” He-RIN said.”
“The organisation recalled that the Federal Government had concluded arrangements for the local manufacturing of mosquito nets following a competitive bidding process completed in 2022, but alleged that the process was abruptly halted at the instance of UNOPS shortly after the current administration assumed office.”
“Since then, the sector has witnessed no meaningful investment. Mosquitoes continue to ravage communities, while Nigeria retains the unenviable position of the world’s most malaria-burdened country,” the statement added.”
“He-RIN argued that these developments directly contradict President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for the health sector, which prioritises a Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp) to Universal Health Coverage (UHC), increased funding, strengthened Primary Health Care through the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), reforms under the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), health workforce development, and the promotion of local production as a pillar of a resilient health system.”
“The group stressed that if local manufacturers had not been blocked from accessing a proposed $100 million contract for the local production of insecticide-treated nets, millions of direct and indirect jobs could have been created, foreign exchange conserved, and malaria-related deaths significantly reduced.”
“He-RIN maintained that SNG Health does not serve Nigeria’s best interests, describing it as a re-emergence of vested interests within the Ministry of Health in collaboration with UNOPS, following the failure of what it alleged was an attempt to divert the $100 million initiative..”
“The organisation stressed that the President must urgently investigate the matter to understand why the Ministry of Health is, in its view, prioritising profit-driven arrangements over the health and lives of Nigerians, while malaria continues to claim hundreds of thousands of lives annually”
“The organisation expressed deep concern that the Honourable Minister of Health has never publicly acknowledged the existence of local LLIN mosquito net manufacturers in Nigeria, despite their verifiable presence, prior international certifications, and documented supply history to agencies such as the Global Fund and the World Bank.”
“He-RIN alleged that the Minister assumed office with a clear conflict of interest, having previously worked in alignment with Vestergaard, and has since promoted policies that favour his personal and commercial interests while systematically disadvantaging Nigerian-owned manufacturers.”
“It revealed that the same Vestergaard company behind the partnership of SNG was the company responsible for closing down over 20 manufacturers of net in Nigeria including the bed net clusters in Lagos, Aba, kano and Onitshia when it came up with its standard Llin that was distributed free to Nigerians therefore killing the commercial market.”
“According to the organisation, the Minister deliberately encouraged UNOPS to exclude and effectively ban local manufacturers who had invested substantial personal and borrowed capital to establish LLIN factories, creating a vacuum that enabled the emergence of SNG Health as the preferred supplier.”
“He-RIN further alleged that the Minister refused to commence tenders or malaria intervention campaigns in World Bank-supported states until the SNG Health agreement was finalised and procurement contracts could be directly channelled to the SNG arrangement.”
“The group stated that the Minister unilaterally pushed for the award of over 25 million Global Fund-supported LLINs to a narrow group of favoured companies without the backing of any publicly disclosed or Nigeria-specific epidemiological study, despite existing national data showing that multiple LLIN types remain effective across different regions of the country”
“He-RIN emphasised that Nigeria’s epidemiological evidence supports the deployment of different LLIN technologies tailored to regional mosquito species and resistance patterns, noting that mosquitoes in Lagos differ significantly from those in Ebonyi and Sokoto States, making a single-net approach scientifically unjustifiable”
“The organisation asserted that corruption, rather than public health outcomes, appears to underpin policies that ignore existing local manufacturers who had previously spent millions of dollars to establish LLIN factories and had successfully produced nets for international donors, including the Global Fund and the World Bank”
vHe-RIN recalled that the Ministry of Health is still indebted to local manufacturers for supplies delivered over a decade ago, even as those same manufacturers once placed Nigeria on the global stage by producing the world’s largest mosquito net, recognised by the Guinness World Records and displayed at Eagle Square, Abuja, during the African Leaders’ Summit on Roll Back Malaria.”
“The group stated that the objective of producing the world’s largest mosquito net was to demonstrate Nigeria’s manufacturing capacity, encourage sustained local production of LLINs, and justify continued government and donor patronage for manufacturers who had borrowed heavily to establish factories.”
“He-RIN questioned why SNG Health was prioritised when Nigerian manufacturers could have been supported through sovereign-backed loan guarantees of up to $40 million, coupled with assured market access, achieving the same outcomes without displacing existing players.”
“The organisation warned that the Minister’s current policy framework is directly harmful to existing manufacturers, as SNG Health competes within the same limited market while enjoying preferential treatment that distorts competition and undermines local industry survival.”
“He-RIN further alleged that the Minister deliberately stalled the issuance of tenders for World Bank-borrowed funds for over two years—despite rising malaria deaths among children—until the SNG Health plan was fully positioned, and cautioned that similar strategies are now being deployed under the guise of promoting “dual” LLIN technology, even though SNG Health is not the sole global producer of such nets and dual LLINs should not be imposed as the exclusive option for Nigeria.”
“We therefore call on President Bola Tinubu to act in the national interest by halting the SNG Health arrangement and directing the Ministry of Health to publicly account for what happened to the $100 million initiative intended for local mosquito net manufacturing,” the statement said.”
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