MPs want urgent attention to nodding disease victims

By HENRY SEKANJAKO

MPs from Acholi sub region have asked government to urgently set up rehabilitation centers to house hundreds of children affected by the “nodding disease” in northern Uganda.

The mysterious nodding disease has so far infected 2,223 children in the north. According to medical officers, the nodding disease is a type of epilepsy related to the worm that causes river blindness.

MPs led by Reagan Okumu (Aswa County) recently threatened to ferry all children affected by the disease to Mulago Hospital for treatment if government fails to respond to their calls.

The director general of health services Dr Jane Achieng, said in two weeks, she would lead a team of technocrats and area politicians to the affected areas to assess the situation and recommend solutions.

Achieng who recently  had a meeting with legislators from the affected region said the ministry of health had ferried  a few affected children to Mulago hospital for treatment but according to the MPs all affected children should be rehabilitated there or all be brought to Mulago hospital for special treatment.

“We want rehabilitation centers for these children, last year 8 children were brought to Mulago for treatment and they recovered the same should be done on these affected children, said John Okot (Agago county).

Okot urged government to set up an outreach program for the communities affected by the disease to sensitize the masses on how they can guard and fight against the disease to avoid further spread.

“We are committed to bring this disease to an end, we recently visited the affected areas and found 200 children sick together with their families,” Okot added.

According to the ministry of health spokesperson Rukia Nakamatte, statistics show that 1,416 cases of the disease have been reported in Pader, 479 in Kitgum and 326 in Lamwo But according to the MPs the cases stand at 3,000.

The Nodding disease or nodding syndrome is little known but it is said to have emerged in Sudan in the 1980s. It affects mainly children aged between the age of 5 and 15.