More than 100 million Nigerians would suffer
from asthma by the year 2025, the Chairman, Board of Trustees, Amaka
Chiwuike-Uba Foundation , ACUF, Dr Chiwuike Uba has said.
He made the
disclosure while briefing newsmen on the maiden annual asthma conference and
launch of Amaka Chiwuike-Uba Foundation (ACUF) in Enugu .
He said
estimates by international health organizations also show that over 15 million
Nigerians have asthma and that about five percent of the figure are children.
Uba said
that in spite of the availability of drugs, significant number of
patients still suffer and die from asthma.
He said an
estimated 75 per cent hospital admissions for asthma and as many as 90 percent
of the asthma deaths were preventable, adding that “painfully Nigeria has
lost many gifted and illustrious sons and daughters including Mrs Amaka
Chiwuike-Uba prematurely to asthma.”
According to
him, the annual asthma conference slated for July 6th was organised by
the foundation to create awareness about asthma.
The ACUF is
organised and funded in collaboration with the Nigeria Medical Association
(NMA), Knowledge and Policy Management Initiative (KAPOMI), Nigerian Thoracic
Society (NTS) and Human Rights Volunteer Corps (HRVC), according to Uba.
Uba said that ACUF was set up in November 2016
in memory of Mrs Amaka Chiwuike-Uba, as a charitable organisation to continue
the very ideals she lived for and help asthma patients live a better life.
An Associate
Professor/Reader of Medicine and a Consultant Respiratory Physician, Dr
Cajethan C. Onyedum said that studies have shown that many Nigeria institutions
lack capacity to manage asthma.
Dr. Onyedum
who is also the Chairman, Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Enugu State
Chapter said
that asthma was one of the non-communicable diseases that was increasing in
prevalence and mortality, despite all the medical knowledge about its
management.
The NMA
chairman explained that “most of the figures you have been given here are not
our figures; some of them are done outside the country, and even those done
within this country are hospital-based figures. What I’m saying is that this is
a tip of the iceberg because when you do any community survey we are going to
get increasing prevalence of asthma.”
National
Coordinator, Human Rights Volunteer Corps of Nigeria (HRVC), Mr Larry Oguego
assured that the corps would raise volunteers who will work both in the long
term and short term in spreading the news that asthma is a battle that
Nigerians can fight and win.
- Daily Trust
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