According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Nigeria, more than 15million people are currently suffering from asthma with a projected increase to 100million by 2025. However, stakeholders will be discussing the linkages between the environment, governance and its impact on health management, as well as make policy recommendations on ways to ‘deal’ with the identified challenges of Asthma in the country.
The2019 Amaka Chiwuike-Uba Annual National Asthma Conference themed Better Breathing, Better Living: The Role of the Environment and Governancetaking place on Thursday July 18, at the Oaklands Hotel in Enugu, Nigeria is organised by the Amaka Chiwuike-Uba Foundation (ACUF) according a statement made available to BusinessDay.
Chiwuike Uba, the Board Chairman of ACUF, said that the annual national asthma conference “is to throw more light on the role of the environment and governance on the management of respiratory diseases; especially, asthma”. Several persons die daily from air pollution-related diseases, including asthma complications.
“We are faced with challenges ranging from being rated as one the most polluted countries in the word to a country grappling with a lot of problems associated with other governance issues,” he said
Uba added that, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), air pollution is responsible for more than 12 million deaths per year, that the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets —SDG 3 (Good health and well-being), SDG 6 (Clean water and Sanitation), SDG 7 (Affordable clean energy), SDG 13 (Climate action), SDG 14 (Life below water) and SDG 16 (Peace, Security and Strong Institutions) is dependent on the environment and governance outcomes.
“The Annual Conference is a platform to discuss national issues, especially health and related matters in an evidence-based approach. The workshop provides policy alternatives and action plan on how to solve the identified challenges because most diseases are associated with environmental and governance issues. Therefore, the 2019 conference will look at issues related to our environmental governance and other governance issues, as they affect health management in Nigeria.
“Governance is core to a sustainable environment and development. We recognize that Nigeria’s economy will be improved if the environment provides better breathing and people live a healthy life with guaranteed access to quality and affordable health care. So, for a conference of this nature, you need people who have the passion and genuinely working for the progress, prosperity, and renaissance of our dear country, Nigeria,” he said.
Uba further revealed that collaborators like Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Nigerian Thoracic Society (NTS), the Knowledge and Policy Management Initiative (KAPOMI) and Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) Alliance, Nigeria are partners in the conference, even as he said that the choice of keynote and experts for the conference is “based on their passion for good governance, inclusiveness, access to quality and affordable healthcare and their expertise in the areas they would be speaking on”.
He named some of the key speakers at the Conference to include Nigeria’s former Minister for Health – Onyebuchi Chukwu who will be the chairman of the Conference; Oby Ezekwesili –the former World Bank Vice-President and Nigeria’s former Education Minister and presidential candidate of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN) in the 2019 general elections; renowned public policy expert, Tunji Olaopa, Consultant Public Health Physician, Benjamin Uzochukwu, Consultant Respiratory and Chest Physician, Gregory Efosa Emerhbor, administrator and health professional, Prof. Rowland Ndoma-Egba, Ademola H. Adigun, Adaeze Ayuk, Ifediora Amobi, Larry Oguego, among other national and international experts.
Uba also called for partnership to develop more strategic sources of funding in order to ensure sustainable long-term programming and improve the quality of life of people.
ANTHONIA OBOKOH
