Northern Pulse

By Stella Kabruk

The Kaduna State Ministry of Health on Wednesday said it has intensified efforts to eliminate lymphatic filariasis and other neglected tropical diseases through improved morbidity management and expanded community-based healthcare interventions statewide.

The Director of Public Health, Dr. Abubakar Sadiq-Idris, disclosed this during a state review meeting on morbidity management and disability prevention supported by Sightsavers in Kaduna.

He said the meeting assessed programme performance in the last implementation cycle, reviewing progress against annual targets, key indicators, and deliverables to identify gaps and evaluate the overall effectiveness of interventions.

The review also examined data quality and reporting systems, analysing the completeness, accuracy, and timeliness of reports from health facilities and local governments, while identifying systemic challenges affecting documentation and decision-making processes.

The discussions further focused on implementation challenges and best practices, including field-level barriers, resource constraints, training needs, and supply chain issues, while documenting successful strategies that improved service delivery outcomes.

Sadiq-Idris described neglected tropical diseases as conditions that receive inadequate attention despite affecting large populations, particularly the poor, often causing disabilities such as swollen limbs and other debilitating complications.

He cited elephantiasis and hydrocele as examples that severely limit mobility and productivity, noting that the ministry has implemented targeted strategies to reduce the burden of such morbidities.

According to him, the state has provided more than 200 free hydrocele surgeries in public facilities in collaboration with Sightsavers, significantly improving the health and well-being of affected residents.

He added that supportive management was also offered to persons with lymphedema, including those with severely swollen limbs, alongside intensified sensitisation campaigns targeting rural communities to encourage access to services.

The ministry, he said, has deployed integrated mobile outreaches and clinics to remote communities, delivering maternal and child health, nutrition, immunisation, antenatal, and neglected tropical disease services in underserved areas.

He said that through community volunteers and engagement with traditional and religious leaders, the state has identified numerous cases and linked affected individuals to appropriate care and management services.

The State Entity Coordinator, Zainab Haruna, identified poor documentation as a major challenge, noting that although hydrocele surgeries were conducted, many cases were not properly reported for official records.

She urged all health facilities, including tertiary institutions, to report hydrocele and lymphedema cases to enable accurate tracking of achievements and quarterly performance within the state.

Haruna said the goal was to increase the number of beneficiaries accessing morbidity management services while strengthening reporting systems to demonstrate measurable progress in disease control.

She commended Sightsavers for training surgeons and expressed optimism that increased government funding would enable the training of additional specialists and expand service coverage.

Speaking, Tabitha Kane of the Kaduna State Entity Unit of the Neglected Tropical Disease Programme at Sightsavers said the meeting reviewed activities around morbidity management for lymphatic filariasis.

Kane noted that while hydrocelectomy surgeries occurred in public and private facilities, reporting remained weak, urging stronger government commitment to documentation to improve the chances of disease elimination certification.

She explained that proper documentation would support verification processes when assessors evaluate whether minimum requirements for certification as free of lymphatic filariasis have been met.

Kane said nine surgeons and a lead surgeon were trained on updated hydrocele surgery techniques, significantly reducing complications and improving patient recovery outcomes across the state.

She added that health workers were also being trained to manage lymphedema cases effectively, ensuring patients with swollen limbs or related conditions receive quality care.

Funding constraints remain a concern, she said, noting that hydrocele surgeries are costly and some patients require transportation support due to limited trained surgeons and facilities.

Kane urged the government to expand the training of surgeons to reduce travel distances for patients and ensure sustainability, stressing that partners cannot remain indefinitely and that strong state ownership is essential.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that participants developed actionable recommendations and outlined next steps to strengthen morbidity management and disability prevention services across the state.

They agreed on priority actions, identified resource requirements, and proposed operational adjustments to ensure alignment with national neglected tropical disease guidelines and partner expectations.