The Parasitology and Public Health Society of Nigeria (PPSN) expressed concern yesterday about the rise in tropical parasitic diseases and their negative effects on the African continent, blaming it on “lack of political will by African leaders to tackle the crippling and killing parasites in the bud.”
Prof. Andy Egwunyenga, Vice Chancellor, Delta State University, Abraka, described the consequences of parasitic infections as very devastating in terms of sicknesses and deaths in a keynote address at the 46th yearly conference held in Abraka, Ethiope East Council of Delta State.
Tropical parasites, according to Egwunyenga, shorten lives, reduce the ability to work or attend school, and impose a life-long burden on Africa’s development potential.
The professor of parasitology and public health consultant bemoaned the burden of tropical diseases in Africa, claiming that diseases cause mass poverty, high infertility rates, slow economic growth, deforestation, rapid urbanization, increased migration, wars, and natural disasters across the continent.
These, he claims, contribute to increased disease transmission and distribution, emphasizing the urgent need to build political will for effective disease control, bridge the gap in health financing and priority setting, and figure out how to improve disease prevention, monitoring, and control rather than relying on foreign aid for a cure.
According to him, diseases cost the African continent $2.4 trillion per year, and nearly 639 million years of healthy life were lost in 2015.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, an epidemiological transition has seen the rise of noncommunicable disease as the leading cause of death in many countries over the last 20 years.
“The health challenge has been well recognized by African governments, resulting in the Abuja Declaration in 2001 and other follow-ups,” he said. “However, responses have been mixed, with most countries unable to meet the funding target of 15%, including Nigeria, which has an average budget of about 4.7 percent over the last 20 years, while Swaziland has the highest at 17 percent.”
Egwunyenga expressed regret that, in comparison to other African countries, the Nigerian government has failed miserably in ensuring that 15% of its annual budgetary allocation goes to health.
“Aside from other unspecified allowances, Nigerian federal lawmakers allocated a total of N268 billion and N463.76 billion to health in 2020.”
According to a budget analysis, the National Assembly received more than half of Nigeria’s health spending in 2020 (N463.7 billion).
This meant that for every N2 spent on health care in Nigeria, N1 went to the National Assembly.
Nigeria spent N500 billion on medical tourism that year,” he lamented.