The Kwara State Governor, Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed, has called for concerted efforts to eradicate communicable diseases ravaging rural communities in the country.
The Governor made the call while receiving delegates from Damien Foundation, Belgium, led by its country representative, Dr. Osman Eltayeb, at Government House, Ilorin.
Specifically, he said steps must be taken to eradicate diseases like tuberculosis and leprosy in the environment, stating that the diseases are directly linked to reduced productivity.
He noted that the responsibility of eradicating these communicable diseases is beyond what government can do alone, calling on Non-Governmental Organisations, corporate bodies and individuals to partner with government to eradicate the diseases.
Ahmed said the state has committed resources to support preventive cases and has made support available at the primary level of healthcare delivery system to ensure quality and adequate healthcare available across the State.
According to him: “Our government has done so much on support for primary and secondary health and we are still planning to support tertiary health care for an improved healthcare delivery.”
Earlier, Eltayeb said the NGO has been in the country since 1993 with the aim of eradicating tuberculosis and leprosy.
He stated that the NGO is collaborating with Federal Ministry of Health to combat the diseases, adding that Kwara State has been penciled down for capacity building on both.
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