Health Experts, including the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Olajide Idris, have reiterated the need to stop stigmatisation of people living with asthma disease.
The experts said most asthma patients hide their inhalers because of stigmatisation, which is not encouraging, since the treatment of asthma is based on the inhaler, which requires that the patient takes it in the morning and night or anytime he/she has need of it.
The doctors said this at a book launch titled, ‘Guidelines for Asthma Management’ sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), held in Ikeja last Tuesday.
Dr. Idris said the establishment of asthma control guidelines was born out of the need to streamline guidelines for the management of the disease in Nigeria, as well as, aid all health personnel. It is targeted mostly at general practitioners in private practice, who are involved in the management of asthma, so as to imbibe current international best practices.
The commissioner stated that there is an epidemiological transition from communicable diseases to non-communicable disease (NCDs), while the NCDs are increasingly becoming an important contributor to the global and national disease burden and therefore, a major public health problem.
He said: “Major NCDs in Nigeria include hypertension, diabetes, mental health, alcohol and related substance use disorders, as well as, road traffic injuries, including violence. The modifiable risk factors for NCDs are unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, use of tobacco and harmful use of alcohol. Other risk factors include climate change, occupational exposure, advancing age and unhealthy reproductive or sexual behaviour.”
“The common thread that runs through most of these diseases is their chronicity, which implies long term health consequences for the sick, greater health resources utilisation and a heavy economic burden to the country as a whole. Although a large proportion of these diseases are preventable through adoption of appropriate healthy lifestyles, there are no proven ways to prevent diseases such as, asthma.”
Cesar Marval, General Manager, GSK, said GSK is committed to ensuring that no patient dies of asthma by providing guidelines for healthcare practitioners in Lagos and Nigeria at large.
He said asthma is a chronic recurrent disease of the respiratory tract characterised by narrowing of inflamed air passages, often resulting in attacks of prolonged breathlessness and wheezing.
“The condition may affect children and adults of any age, which together with severity of presentation, may depend on a variety of individual and environmental factors. The Independent Medical Education (IME) programme on asthma management will equip healthcare professionals with the practical knowledge and skill necessary to recognise and treat asthma as a chronic illness. The course will provide hands-on and theoretical training in evidence-based method of treating asthma in both the short and longer terms. Participants would be encouraged to contextualise their learning through a series of practical demonstrations and discussion of case studies.
He explained that GSK, Africa Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD), open lab aims to stimulate research to better understand the unique attributes of NCDs in Africa patients.
“The next call for proposals focusing on African scientists at an early stage of their research career would be open on November 7, 2016 with up to $100, 000 per award,” he explained.
