Prof. Louis-Albert Tchuem Tchuente, Countdown Cameroon Country Manager, talks on the challenges of controlling NTDs.

What are Neglected Tropical Diseases?

Neglected Tropical Diseases, NTDs, are diseases caused by parasites and bacteria that were for long neglected because of lack of resources to control them. These diseases cause a lot of harm and have similar features such as poverty and poor hygiene, with the most affected being people in poor communities. These factors hindered focus of attention on these diseases, but of recent, there has been a new momentum on controlling them.

It has been realised that if these diseases are controlled, people will be healthier and their productivity will increase. The World Health Organisation, WHO, has given priority to 17 NTDs in the world for control, with Africa having 10. The five main diseases in Cameroon are Onchocerciasis (River Blindness), Lymphatic Filariasis (Elephantiasis), Schistosomiasis (Bilharzias), Intestinal Helminthiasis (intestinal worms) and Trachoma (blindness). They can be controlled through mass treatment without bothering to know the infection of each individual.

Were some of these diseases eradicated before in Cameroon?

They were not eradicated; some of them had control programmes. The health problems in our country are so many. Sometimes, government tends to focus on other health concerns. This is why the diseases were neglected. It must be noted that different neglected diseases exist all over the world. But now, the world has realised that all these neglected diseases put together cause more damage than those that have always received attention.

What are the challenges in treating Neglected Tropical Diseases?

The challenges are many because the diseases affect people already living in poor conditions. Given their poverty, they cannot afford the drugs, and so continue to live with these diseases. Fortunately, many stakeholders have of recent decided to control these diseases. For example, pharmaceutical companies have donated drugs to treat patients for free, but you need funding to transport the drugs to target areas and offer incentives to health staff because affected people live in remote communities.

Another challenge is that the diseases cannot be treated once because the people live in poor hygienic conditions where they are often re-infected. As a result, treatment has to be carried out over a number of years. Also, for proper disease control to take place, the livelihoods, hygiene and sanitation of affected communities must be tackled.

Kimeng Hilton NDUKONG