By Precious D. Freeman
Former Education Minister Evelyn S. Kandakai says it causes more harm to hide symptoms of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD).
She advised that these diseases can stigmatize anyone that has it, and added that it can also make a person to shy away from others in gatherings.
“People who have these diseases in Liberia including big foot, river blindness, have been isolated into what has sometimes been referred to as colonies,” she added.
Ambassador Kandakai mentioned that the diseases are divided into four categories which include; Protozoan, Viral, bacterial and helminthes; thereby citing some of its examples as Leprosy, Onchocerciasis, Schistosomiasis, filariasis, elephantiasis among others.
Madam Kandakai who is now the Ambassador of NTD program through the Ministry of Health (MOH) pleaded with Liberians at the end of a day-long meeting on NTDs held in Sinkor on Monday to voice out signs of NTDs in communities.
She added that those affected by these diseases should take their medication seriously and regularly because the medicines are distributed in mass to large numbers of people at community levels.
“The drugs are invermectin (mectizan) Albendazole or Mebendazole and Praziquantel,” she explained.
The NTD program was intended to create awareness on how the diseases can be contracted and the treatment measures.
According to her, NTDs are some diseases found mostly in some tropical countries which have been designated by the World Health Organization (WHO), adding that after some persistence by African Ministers of Health practitioner, thereby forcing health organizations to recognize those prolong-neglected diseases as ones deserving more attention.
She explained that WHO provides technical and strategic guidance towards the reduction of the global burdens of NTDs and by doing so it prioritizes the public health needs of poor and marginalized populations.