World Asthma Day: Nigerian Thoracic Society advocates better asthma care in Nigeria

As part of efforts to celebrate World Asthma Day (WAD), May 2, 2023, and reduce the burden of asthma in Nigeria, the Nigerian Thoracic Society (NTS) has advocated education of asthma patients and carers as an integral part of asthma care to achieve optimal control of symptoms and exacerbation.

According to NTS, asthma is a respiratory disease affecting the airways and studies have shown that about 15 million Nigerians suffer from this disease, hence, the need for advocacy for better care.

NTS in a study titled, “Nigerian Thoracic Society at the Forefront of advocacy for better asthma care in Nigeria” and published by Journal of the Pan African Thoracic Society concluded: “This involves an emphasis on self-management, which can significantly reduce the suffering and costs associated with asthma.

Nigerian Thoracic Society through its members was able to work together on the theme for the 2022 WAD celebration to identify and close the gaps in asthma care in Nigeria through seminars, symposia, workshops, and webinars to educate asthma patients, relatives, and carers involved in asthma care across the six geopolitical zones.

“The association also hopes to continue to engage the public and also reach out to and train other health workers in the management of asthma through collaborations with major stakeholders including government and private sector particularly pharmaceutical companies. This is hoped to have some positive impact on the burden of asthma care in Nigeria.”

The researchers include: Oluwafemi Tunde Ojo of the Department of Medicine, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Lagos; Paul Augustine Ikechukwu of the Department of Medicine, University of Nigeria, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu; and Eruke Elizabeth Egbagbe of the Department of Medicine, University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Benin, Edo State.

As a way of advocating for better lung care in Nigeria, the Nigerian Thoracic Society uses the avenue of different international health events to organise training programmes and create awareness about respiratory diseases such as asthma. One such international health event is the WAD, which is celebrated every year by the society.

The WAD is a yearly event organised by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA), a World Health Organisation collaborative organisation founded in 1993.

WAD is held every first Tuesday in May of every year to raise awareness of asthma worldwide. Every year, GINA chooses a theme, which is usually the focus of the event worldwide.

Meanwhile, President of the Nigerian Society of Asthmatics, University College Hospital (UCH) branch, Prof. Olusoji Ige says over 100,000 Nigerians have asthma and about 75 per cent of them risk dying from the disease due to poor control.

Ige, a chest physician who spoke at a rally to commemorate World Asthma Day with the theme “Asthma Care for All” at the Bodija market, Ibadan, said asthma, a condition involving the airway, may cause difficulty in breathing, chest pain and cough and wheezing, and when poorly controlled could become deadly and result in death unexpectedly.

According to him, poor control of asthma symptoms in Nigeria mostly occurs when many people cannot assess the severity of their symptoms very well and many people don’t use their inhalers appropriately, while deaths occur when they don’t use appropriate inhalers in the event of an attack.

“Many asthma patients hesitate to use inhalers, rather they want to use the asthma medications in tablet or injection forms. Inhalers are the best available medicines because the drugs go directly to the windpipe where the problem actually is.

“Inhalation corticosteroid is the key cornerstone for the management of asthma; many people still take tablets and that is why their asthma is not properly controlled. Some don’t know the appropriate drug to use. Some also take herbal concoctions, believing that these will cure them.

“Asthma is not curable but it is treatable. With good asthma control, there wouldn’t be nighttime or early morning asthma symptoms and people wouldn’t be limited in doing any activity including sports. ”