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As part of efforts to combat the rising incidents of stroke sickness in Nigeria, the World Stroke Organisation, in collaboration with Stroke Action Nigeria, the Federal Medical Centre, Onitsha, the Federal Medical Centre, Asaba and the Asaba Specialist Hospital, commenced a four-day sensitisation training for medical and ancillary health workers in Anambra State.
The training, themed ‘Addressing the rising burden of stroke in Nigeria,’ has over 200 participants, including healthcare professionals and service providers. The initiative is aimed at equipping them with the relevant skills in stroke prevention, early detection, and management.
Speaking at the event at the FMC Onitsha on Wednesday, a board member of the World Stroke Organisation and the Chief Executive of Stroke Action Nigeria, Dr Rita Melifonwu, emphasised the need and urgency of tackling rising stroke cases in Nigeria.
Melifonwu dismissed common beliefs associating stroke with witchcraft or spiritual attacks, saying that the disease is a medical and lifestyle-related condition that, when detected early, can be effectively managed.
She said the training of the healthcare providers was necessary to enable them to know how, where and when to detect stroke symptoms in a patient, adding that the exercise is also part of activities marking World Stroke Day.
According to her, the World Stroke Organisation was established as part of a health information hub to educate and to create a continuous awareness campaign on the dangers of stroke disease.
She said, “Today, stroke is killing so many people worldwide. It is because of this that the seminar is organised to train healthcare givers and service providers, as there are no stroke services available in the geopolitical part of Nigeria.
“Each of us has work to do to prevent stroke in our lives and in our family. We need to know the signs of stroke and what to do when someone has a stroke.
“WSO’s mission is to deliver lives free from stroke by informing and educating the public about the disease, how to spot it, how to prevent it, and how to live the best possible life after stroke.
“Today, stroke is the leading cause of death and disability, but evidence suggests that almost all strokes could be prevented with action on a few key risk factors.
“Despite the evidence and potential for stroke prevention over the past decade, the lifetime risk of stroke in adults over 25 years has increased from one in every six persons to one in every four persons.
“The ongoing training of healthcare workers/awareness campaign focused on bringing global attention to these new statistics as evidence of the urgent need for action at the individual and policy levels in relation to stroke prevention.”
She explained that studies have shown that one in every four persons is at risk of stroke, calling on everyone to take simple steps to prevent the deadly disease.
According to her, the goal of the four-day programme is to increase the WSO reach and to prove that the world can come together to show the difference it can make when it unitedly faces the disease.
“The World Stroke Organisation is currently seeking to partner with the Federal Government to establish a ‘Life After Stroke Centre’ across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.
“This will assist the less privileged Nigerians suffering from the disease with poor financial capacity. We urged every Nigeran to try as much as possible to have basic health care insurance,” she added.
In her remarks, a consultant neurologist and member of the research team, Dr Chiamaka Okereke, also noted that the major aim of the four-day event is to brainstorm and propose a solution to the rising cases of stroke burden in Nigeria.
Okereke explained that the organisation has been having training in the past, but the current one brought all of them together, and they would still gather again in April or May.
She stressed that the event was not only held at FMC Onitsha but also at FMC Asaba, just as she said professionals from all over the world were invited, and some of them spoke to them online.
She expressed optimism that after the seminar, participants, who she said were active in the training, would be able to know when somebody has a stroke and prevent it.
“Normally, stroke kills the person or leaves the person disabled. But if it is recognised promptly and action is taken immediately, the burden of stroke can be drastically reduced,” she added.
