Ademola Adeeko, CEO of Juliana Asthma Foundation (JAF), speaks on government activities in reducing deaths arising from asthma complications. He also reveals plans by the organisation to build an asthma hospital to help in the control of asthma.
Why did you decide to build a hospital for asthma patients and not any other disease?
The reason for building asthma clinic instead of cancer or other ailment is because enough awareness is already in place by various bodies like United nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organisation (WHO) and numerous medical agencies for these other diseases. According to the WHO, about 235 million people worldwide suffer from asthma. Unlike asthma, enough awareness is not in place and the cost of treatment and medical facilities is of low standard. Over 80 per cent of asthma deaths occur in low- and lower-middle income countries, and Nigeria happens to one of them. Research shows that 55 million people suffer immensely from this killer disease called asthma. What further made me to take up the challenge to build asthma clinic is in memory of my mother, who suffered and died of the ailment. I also see it as a way of giving back to the society, thereby helping to develop it.
How long has the foundation been in existence?
The foundation was set up in the United Kingdom in 2014, and it was later on registered here in Nigeria. We brought the foundation to Nigeria because of the increase in figures of asthma sufferers.
What are some of the major achievements of the foundation so far?
The United Kingdom government has endorsed JAF and always ready to come on board if the need arises. Similarly, GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Nigeria Limited has shown its support by providing medical experts in the field of respiratory disease to give information in terms of educating people on asthma-elated condition. Campaign research is also in progress to bring together the people of Hayes and Harlington about the risk factors and ways of bringing improvement to this health issue.
What are some of the challenges of setting up such an organisation and your intention of embarking on such a huge project?
The drawback of running a non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Nigeria is access to sufficient funds to (in our case) assist asthma sufferers. This has been a major challenge. Also, lack of awareness among sufferers is of major problem. This, I personally believe, should be a priority attention to the populace.
Do you think Nigerian governments at all levels are doing enough in terms of raising awareness, intervention and providing access of quality treatment for sufferers?
The response of the federal government of Nigeria towards medical treatment to the people is absolutely poor when compared to what obtains in developed countries like Britain, where priority attention is given to people through NHS (National Health Service) agencies. NHS serves as a way of relief towards medical expenses.
How do you intend to help improve on what is presently obtainable in Nigeria?
We are networking with other people in every part of Nigeria through the social media, broadcast media and print media, through our team of charity trustees, to sample people’s opinion about how they contribute their own ideas to the battle against asthma. After we get their contributions, we will then sit to analyse all that we get and then prioritise. But like I said earlier, our ultimate aim is to build an asthma care centre or hospital. There, sufferers will get adequate attention and treatment at little or no cost.
What would be your recommendation to the government in terms of improving treatment of sufferers?
Britain has quality and standard medical services to assist patient through government agencies called NHS, set up purposely for people to receive free medical attention at little or no cost. In Nigeria, we lack proper medical attention, not to even talk of how the bills should be paid. Quality and standard healthcare is a must to save lives. This is why I insist on the federal government coming on board to assist NGO’s in financing
projects towards ensuring their mission and objective is attained at all costs.
