Organisation trains Gombe Health workers on management of Elephantiasis 

A Non-Governmental Organisation in Nigeria, Amen Health Care Foundation, has begun training of 44 Health workers  on the management of Elephantiasis in Gombe State .

Flagging off the two-day training, the Executive Secretary Gombe State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Abdulrahaman Shuaibu said the training was timely because it would go a long way in building the capacity of the Health workers in managing Elephantiasis.

Dr. Shuaibu said; ”Elephantiasis is a Neglected Tropical Disease that was endemic in Gombe State and that the adverse effect on the population is the negative impact the socio-economic life of the people, such as poverty, because it prevents the patients from engaging in economic activities.”

Commendation
He, however, commended the Amen Foundation for expanding the training to all the 11 Local Government Areas in the state, while also appreciating the organisation for supporting the state for the past four years.

He gave the assurance that the Gombe State Government would continue to cooperate with the organisation in that regard.

The President and Founder of Amen Health Care, Mrs. Rita Oguntoyinbo, thanked the participants for making themselves available to learn how to help those who developed Elephantiasis in their respective communities.

She said most of the persons with Elephantiasis do not know what to do, hence the need to pick them early, provide them the care that would enable them to live a meaningful life and not to suffer morbidity.

Early detection
Mrs. Oguntoyinbi said sometimes patients developed sores that are very difficult to manage, but that they would be managed if and when detected early.

She also said participants should refer men with Hydrocele so that their names would be included for surgery.

A Professor of Parasitology from the University of Lokoja, who served as the training facilitator during the training, Professor Jaqueline Badaki, said Elephantiasis was often viewed as a disability, not a health issue.

She said, however, that Elephantiasis was categorised into grade, at the early stage was in grades.

“One is the swollen, which is not visible, the second grade, swollen become visible and the third grade, the affected area becomes hard as stone, the skin completely lost its elasticity,” Professor Badaki stated.

She, however, said with simple basic hygiene, Elephantiasis could be managed and treated not necessarily a radical approach.

The training brought four participants from each of the LGAs in the state.

Elephantiasis is a condition in which a limb or other parts of the body becomes enlarged due to the obstruction of the lymphatic vessels.

Mercy Chukwudiebere