The Lagos state government in partnership with a non-governmental organization – Mission to Save the Helpless, MITOSATH, kick-started administration of free Ivermectin and Albendazole medicines to residents for the elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) also known as Elephantiasis in six local government areas of the State.
Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Olusegun Ogboye who flagged-off the campaign for the mass administration of medicines for the elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis in Alausa-Ikeja, stated that the goal of the M.A.M. campaign is to treat 3,952,904 individuals in six LGAs with Ivermectin and Albendazole medicines.
Ogboye disclosed that medicines for the elimination of LF in Lagos State would be administered to individuals aged five years and above through implementers who will carry out house-to-house campaign visits, in six LGAs between Wednesday 30th of August and Sunday 3rd of September, 2023.
The Permanent Secretary advised residents who exhibit symptoms of LF to visit governmental facilities closest to them to register for free surgical intervention and management of disease.
In their remarks, the Executive Director, MITOSATH, Dr. Francisca Olamiju and the Director Epidemiology, Biosecurity and Global Health in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Ismail Abdus-Salam, explained that NTDs are communicable diseases that have long been associated with poverty due to their prevalence in areas with inadequate sanitation, water supply, and substandard housing conditions.
