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Joe Nwiloh Foundation seeks to reduce heart disease burden in Nigeria

By Adaku Onyenucheya
18 October 2018   |   2:33 am
Towards reducing the burden of heart related diseases in the country, a non-profit organisation, Joe Nwiloh Foundation has been officially launched to provide financial aid to indigent Nigerians needing life-saving surgery and other advanced interventional treatments not accessible to them.

Member Board of Trustees, Joe Nwiloh Heart Foundation (JNHF), Prof. Gbolahan Elias (left); Guest Speaker, Professor of Neurology and Neuro-therapeutics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre, Dalls, USA, Patrick Griffith; Chairman, JNHF, Dr. Jonathan Nwiloh; Member Board of Trustees, JNHF, Mr Akin Omorondion; and Chairman of the occasion, Executive Chairman, Philips Consulting Limited, Mr Folusho Philips, during the official/gala night of Joe Nwiloh Heart Foundation in Lagos.

Towards reducing the burden of heart related diseases in the country, a non-profit organisation, Joe Nwiloh Foundation has been officially launched to provide financial aid to indigent Nigerians needing life-saving surgery and other advanced interventional treatments not accessible to them.

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide for the last 15 years and presently second in Africa, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), stating that the disease (ischemia and stroke) accounts for 16.2 million out of 56.9 million deaths in 2016.

The WHO further states that the preponderance of global cardiovascular disease burden occurs in low and middle income countries such as Nigeria.Speaking at the official launch/gala night of the foundation, the Chairman, Board of Trustee, Dr. Jonathan Nwiloh, said compounding the problem caused by the heart disease is the World Bank estimate that shows 70 per cent of Sub-Saharan Africa population live below poverty level, which is less than $1.25 a day.

He stressed that large indigent population lack both access and the financial means to life-saving technologically advanced treatments for cardiovascular disease, which has left millions of afflicted children and adolescents to ultimately succumb to early death before their prime.He noted that with scarcely any government medical aid for such specialised services for the prevention and treatment of heart related diseases; the patients are often left without any safety net.

The reason, he said, the Joe Nwiloh Heart Foundation was birthed to lead advocacy for heart diseases prevention and improve patient’s access to high technological cardiovascular treatments in sub-Saharan Africa as well as provide financial aid to indigent patients.“Through this initiative, the foundation has impacted many lives and families in various impoverished homes across the country that would have otherwise been lost to the ravages of heart diseases. We are committed to joining other like minds to form partnerships and alliances in the fight to reduce and eventually eliminate the scourge of heart disease in our communities,” Nwiloh stressed.

In his presentation titled: “Prevention Tips, Early Warning Signs and Treatment of Stroke”, the guest speaker, Professor of Neurology and Neuro-therapeutics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre, Dallas, United States (US), Patrick Griffith, said stroke is the biggest medical problem in sub-Saharan Africa and particularly in Nigeria.

“In Nigeria stroke is almost twice as common than any other major medical problem and unfortunately things are getting worst. The burden is on those people living in sub-Saharan Africa region and Nigeria has the biggest population so therefore they are most likely to be at risk and the biggest risk factor is high blood pressure which affects both the heart and the brain. This is a public health problem,” he said.

Griffith advised that if there is increased public awareness, support for public health education as well as government investing more resources into health financing, “It will eventually start to decrease the number of heart problems and brain problems that are directly related to having heart diseases.”

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