NMIMR marks World NTDs Day with free health screening

A free health screening exercise within Accra Central has been organized to mark World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day 2024.

The health screening, organized by the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research in collaboration with the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (A.M.A.), was to commemorate the World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day set aside by the World Health Organization on January 30 every year.

The celebration, which ran under the theme “Unite, Act, Eliminate,” highlighted NMIMR’s efforts in achieving the programmatic targets set out in the NTD roadmap for 2021–2030.

According to the WHO, the roadmap sets global targets and milestones to prevent, control, eliminate, or eradicate 21 diseases and disease groups, as well as cross-cutting targets aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. Three foundational pillars will support global efforts to achieve the targets: accelerate programmatic action (pillar 1), intensify cross-cutting approaches (pillar 2), and change operating models and culture to facilitate country ownership (pillar 3).

Dr. Richard Akuffo, Research Scientist at the Department of Epidemiology at NMIMR, explained that Neglected Tropical Diseases are mostly found in tropical areas, which affect the poorest people mostly in remote parts of the world.

“NTDs are diseases that are hard to reach in many cases. A greater burden of these diseases is in sub-Saharan Africa. Of the 1.7 billion people affected globally, about 70% are in the sub-Saharan region. The resources required to address NTDs are usually not readily available for their control. Therefore, on a day like this when we are celebrating World NTDs Day, we should take more interest and be more involved in the advocacy to explain what they are and how we can work together to eradicate them.”

Dr. Akuffo further indicated that the celebration emphasizes the urgent need for all stakeholders to find the basis to unite together to eliminate NTDs.

“We celebrate the fact that the WHO, Ghana as a country, and the whole world are coming together to bring these neglected diseases back to the table. At Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, we have coined our own version of the year’s theme; we are uniting and acting together with our stakeholders to eliminate NTDs not only in Ghana but in Africa.”

Over 150 people benefited from the exercise. Some beneficiaries commended the organizers of the exercise and urged a greater call by stakeholders to invest in such good causes.

“Healthcare is expensive. Institutions that put such an occasion together to provide this free community service must be commended. I am ready to always take advantage of such situations whenever I come across them. As a result of insufficient funds, most of us avoid visiting the health facility for regular checks,” a beneficiary said.