The South South Zone Can End Neglected Tropical Diseases, If We Back What Works
Experts, researchers, and public health practitioners converged at the Steve Azaiki Public Library Conference Hall, Yenagoa for the First South-South Zonal Conference of the Parasitology and Public Health Society of Nigeria (PPSN), held from 20th – 22nd August 2025.
With the theme “Innovative Approaches in the Elimination of Parasitic Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs),” the two -day conference brought together participants from across Nigeria in both physical and virtual attendance. The South South region, being a hotspot for diseases such as lymphatic filariasis, schistosomiasis, and soil-transmitted helminths, made Yenagoa a strategic venue for discussions on elimination strategies.
Opening Messages
In her welcome address, Mofe Pajiah, South South Zonal Coordinator of PPSN, described the maiden conference as “a historic moment and a platform to exchange knowledge, foster collaboration, and chart innovative pathways in parasitology and public health.” She noted that the theme was timely, urging participants to embrace new technologies, integrated strategies, and community-driven solutions to accelerate NTD elimination.
Delivering a goodwill message, Prof. Sammy Sam-Wobo, FPPNS, National President of PPSN, congratulated the South South Zone for its contributions to the society’s visibility and leadership in NTD research and advocacy. He encouraged delegates to ensure that the conference outcomes advance PPSN’s mission of eliminating parasitic NTDs and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Hands-On Workshops
Day one featured capacity-building workshops on, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), field and laboratory techniques and statistical applications in parasitology research, facilitated by leading scholars, Prof Uwem Ekpo, Dr Clement Ameh Yaro and Dr Edema E. Imalele respectively. Participants described the sessions as highly practical and critical for strengthening surveillance and research.
Keynote & Sub-Themes
On day two, Prof. Ekanem Ikpi Braide, the conference chair, urged stakeholders to adopt integrated strategies for NTDs, drawing lessons from the historic eradication of guinea worm. She encouraged PPSN to drive community-based interventions across the zone.
The keynote address, delivered by Prof. Martins Aisien, emphasized digital health tools, community ownership, and cross-sector partnerships as essential to sustainable elimination. Sub-theme sessions by Prof. Uwem Ekpo (on behalf of Prof. Susan Etim) stressed the imperative of WASH, noting that improved water, sanitation, and hygiene are essential to breaking the transmission of schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis, and must complement mass drug administration through infrastructural investment and behavioural change.
Prof. Lebari Barine Gboeloh presented on community-led interventions, showing that drug distribution, health education, and vector control are more effective when communities themselves take ownership.
Elliot E. Eyaguobor (on behalf of Prof. O. P. G. Nmorsi) highlighted cross-sector partnerships, emphasizing that collaboration between academia, government, private sector, and NGOs is critical for scaling up interventions, with case studies demonstrating improved resource mobilization and sustainability.
Research & Policy Dialogue
Sixteen abstract presentations by researchers and postgraduate students enriched the plenary, covering topics from snail vector studies to bacterial vaginosis prevalence in Delta State. A high-level panel discussion chaired by Prof. Uwem Ekpo identified persistent challenges including:
Inadequate funding for research and interventions,
Poor enforcement of sanitation regulations,
Logistics barriers to hard-to-reach communities, and
Limited drug access for vulnerable groups.
Key Outcomes
From schistosomiasis to river blindness and intestinal worms, Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) still quietly steal health, time, and opportunity from families across Nigeria’s South-South. The solutions are local, practical, and ready to scale—if we choose to fund and coordinate them.
What stood out was the insistence on pairing medicines with basics—clean water, toilets, and hygiene. We know mass drug administration saves lives. But without safe water and sanitation, infections return, trapping communities in an endless cycle. The conference’s message was clear: treatment and WASH must move together, as one public-health package.
Another lesson was ownership. Community-led programmes consistently deliver better drug coverage, better health education, and longer-lasting results. When local leaders, schools, faith groups, and youth associations help design and run interventions, people participate—and the benefits endure.
Data and skills matter, too. Hands-on training in field and lab diagnostics, GIS mapping, and straightforward statistics equips frontline workers to find hotspots, track progress, and direct scarce resources where they’ll save the most lives. This isn’t “nice to have”—it’s how we stop flying blind and start spending smarter.
We also heard about the people we too often miss: families displaced by conflict or floods, and those in riverine, hard-to-reach areas. If our health plans don’t include them from the outset—with boats, last-mile logistics, and flexible outreach—then our numbers will look good on paper while transmission continues off the grid.
Nigeria doesn’t lack ideas; it lacks continuity. Funding gaps delay proven interventions; weak enforcement of sanitation by-laws undermines community efforts; research findings move too slowly into policy. These are solvable problems, but only if state governments, LGAs, universities, NGOs, and the private sector align around a simple compact: scale what works, measure it honestly, and keep at it.
Recommendations
The pathway forward is practical: build skills; fund WASH alongside medicines; let communities lead; strengthen partnerships; budget for last-mile logistics; and ensure preschoolers and all adults at risk can access essential medicines like praziquantel. The South-South has the talent, the tools, and the will. Now it needs consistent backing.
If we do that—steady funding, stronger coordination, relentless focus on basics—the South-South won’t just reduce NTDs. It can eliminate them as a public-health problem, and show the rest of the country how it’s done.
Commitments
Delegates highlighted the need to:
Integrate WASH with mass drug administration to prevent reinfection;
Expand community ownership for better coverage and sustained results;
Improve logistics to reach riverine and other hard-to-access communities;
Include displaced families in outreach plans;
Close funding gaps and speed the use of research evidence in policy;
Increase access to essential medicines, including for preschoolers and all at-risk adults.
Resolutions & Call to Action
The conference resolved to:
Prioritize capacity building in laboratory, GIS, and statistical methods,
Integrate WASH into elimination programmes,
Strengthen community participation, and
Foster cross-sector partnerships for sustainability.
Participants called for continuous zonal conferences to sustain momentum, urging stakeholders to act decisively to free the South-South of parasitic NTDs.
Appreciation & Closing
Gratitude was extended to The Carter Center for their sponsorship, facilitators and the people of Bayelsa for their hospitality. The communiqué, noted that the conference marked a landmark event blending training, dialogue, and actionable resolutions, adding that the outcomes would accelerate Nigeria’s progress toward the 2030 NTD elimination target.
