March 27, 2009

www.afriquejet.com

Cotonou, Benin - Cotonou will Monday host an African summit on Neglected Tropical Diseases, official sources in the Beninese economic capital said Friday.

Organized by a NGO, Water for all Children (Wafac-Africa), the Beninese government and the World Health Organization (WHO), the summit will be attended by the heads of state of Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Togo, Nigeria, Congo, Cameroon, Mali, Burkina Faso and Senegal.

It will also have in attendance the ministers of health of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and will particularly focus on the fight against Burili ulcer.

Participants will assess advances made in research in the last 10 years on Burili ulcer, the third mycrobacterial disease in humans, after leprosy and tuberculosis.

In Benin, a national programme to control Burili ulcer was launched in 1977 and over 11,000 cases have been detected and treated to date.

The care of the disease is both very expensive and difficult, ranging from surgery, to nutritional support through the treatment with antibiotics and physiotherapy.