Mrs. ADAKU GOODNESS lives in Mile 12, Lagos State. Goodness has been living with elephantiasis for over 15 years. According to her, she has used both herbal and conventional drugs but there has been no improvement.
Goodness’ disease is one of the cases discovered during an outreach on neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) organised by Youth Development and Empowerment Initiative (YEDI) sponsored by Streetfootball World and The End Fund held at Mile 12 central Community Development Association (CDA) secretariat.
The foundation also provided free health services to the community and partnered with the Lagos State Ministry of Health to sensitise the people on NTDs.
Elephantiasis is also known as lymphatic filariasis. It is caused by parasitic worms, and can spread from person to person through mosquitoes. Elephantiasis causes swelling of the scrotum, legs, or breasts.
Elephantiasis is considered a NTD. It is more common in tropical and subtropical areas of the world, including Africa and Southeast Asia.
Executive Director, YEDI, Tomisin Adeoye urged the community on imbibing the culture of Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) that is practised among many communities across the country.
“Populations living in poverty, without adequate sanitation and in close contact with infectious vectors and domestic animals and livestock are those worst affected,” she said.
According to her, Mile 12 is an area that is prone to NTDs and therefore urged the community to ensure a clean environment, adding that good hygiene is not expensive.
She said: “NTDs is what Nigerians should take seriously as it causes severe pain, disabilities, deformities, malnutrition, stunted growth, cognitive impairment, social isolation, and humiliation. It also affects a person’s ability to attend school or work. It is important to ensure we have a clean environment. Once we have an environment that is clean, bacteria will not be able to thrive, so let’s ensure we maintain cleanliness in our own space no matter what. And eat healthy and also encourage other people to come and access these free services.”
On his part, the CDA Chairman, Ogundele Joshua urged the government to find a way to avoid population implosion in the community, saying that they witness huge populace trooping in because of the market, saying that this will curb the spread of diseases.
“You know we have one of the biggest markets in the South West, which is Mile 12 international market. By God’s grace, if you look around, you will see that we have a lot of people who are not from here? We shouldn’t call them migrants because we are all Nigerians. Some are migrating from the North, East and part of the South. No doubt, they are coming here because of the market.
“But the implication is that this is causing security challenges and outbreak of diseases. It is speculated that in five years time, we will be having a population explosion in Mile 12.
“So we are appealing to the Lagos state government to assist the CDA and ICDA Ikosi Iserin in preventing some of these movements to have a good life.”
