By Fatima Mohammed-Lawal
Ilorin – Sight Savers, a Non Governmental Organisation, has donated drugs for treating river blindness and other Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) to some communities in Kwara.
Mr Johnson Emmanuel, the Monitoring and Supervision Programme Assistant of Sight Savers, stated this on Thursday in Ilorin at the presentation of eight motor cycles to NTDs Coordinators in eight Local Government Areas of Kwara.
He said the motorcycles would assist in traversing the difficult terrain for the distribution of drugs on river blindness and other NTDs.
“The drugs are meant to cure river blindness, elephantiasis, hydrocels and leopard skin diseases among others,’’ he said.
Emmanuel, who noted that some local government in Kwara benefited from his organisation’s gestures in 2017 , added that more benefits were still underway.
In his reaction, the Kwara Commissioner for Health, Alhaji Usman Rifun, expressed the readiness of the state government to partner with organisations on any initiative that would be of benefit to Kwarans.
Rifun commended the donor and promised that the items would be judiciously utilised by the beneficiaries.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that NTDs are the most common conditions affecting the poorest 500 million people living in sub-Saharan Africa.
NAN also reports that the benefitting council areas include Patigi, Isin, Irepodun, Oke Ero, Ekiti, Ilorin East, Kaiama and Oyun.