Niamey, Jan 31 (IANS): Niger's Minister of Public Health, Population and Social Affairs Garba Hakimi officially declared that the country is free of onchocerciasis.
With this landmark achievement, Niger becomes the first country in Africa to eradicate this disease, which had particularly impacted populations living near certain waterways.
On the same day, the World Health Organisation (WHO) congratulated Niger on achieving the standard required to eliminate onchocerciasis.
Niger is recognised as the fifth country in the world, and the first in Africa, to have successfully halted the transmission of the parasite Onchocerca volvulus. The other four countries that have reached this milestone are all located in the Americas: Colombia (2013), Ecuador (2014), Guatemala (2016), and Mexico (2015).
Hakimi expressed gratitude for the efforts made over the past 15 years, which provided the scientific evidence necessary for the disease's elimination in the country, Xinhua news agency reported.
Casimir Manengu, the resident representative of the WHO, commended Niger's commitment and leadership that enabled this remarkable achievement.
"I congratulate Niger on its dedication to freeing its population from this blinding and stigmatising disease, which causes immense suffering among the poorest communities," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
"This success stands as further evidence of the significant progress we have made in the fight against neglected tropical diseases. By demonstrating that elimination is possible, it offers hope to other countries still battling onchocerciasis today."
Onchocerciasis is the second neglected tropical disease to be eliminated in Niger, which was certified to have interrupted the transmission of dracunculiasis in 2013 by the WHO.
According to the WHO, Onchocerciasis is an eye and skin disease. Symptoms are caused by the microfilariae, which move around the human body in the subcutaneous tissue and induce intense inflammatory responses when they die. Infected people may show symptoms such as severe itching and various skin changes. Infected people may also develop eye lesions which can lead to visual impairment and permanent blindness. In most cases, nodules under the skin form around the adult worms. Early exposure to O. volvulus infection is associated with epilepsy in children.