Medical experts have advocated better and affordable access to treatment for patients with asthma to enable them to live quality lives. They made the call, yesterday, during the World Asthma Day celebration by the Respiratory Unit, Department of Medicine, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH).
Head, Respiratory Unit, Department of Medicine, LASUTH, Prof. Olufunke Adeyeye, said asthma, which is the commonest chronic condition with high morbidity rate in children and adults, had not received attention like other diseases in the country.
Besides, Adeyeye lamented poor funding for drugs and treatment as well as less support for patients living with asthma. She, therefore, called for collaboration between government and the pharmaceutical sector to make the quality of life of children and adults with asthma better through availability of drugs, diagnosis and treatment.
Adeyeye also urged policy-makers to ensure asthma care is available for everybody regardless of status, by reducing the cost of medication. Also, Chief Medical Director of LASUTH, Prof. Adetokunbo Fabamwo, lamented that the manufacturing aspect in the pharmaceutical industry collapsed in the last eight years, owing to various factors.
He said over-dependence on importation made drugs very expensive, considering high foreign exchange. Fabamwo advocated strengthening of local manufacturing capacity to ensure drugs are available and accessible to reduce the burden of asthma. He, however, expressed hope that the incoming administration will improve the health sector and local production of drugs in the country.
Similarly, the Consultant Physician and Pulmonologist at LASUTH, Dr. Oluwafemi Ojo, said increasing exposure to industrial revolution and western diet were fuelling the burden of asthma in the country. He urged patients to ensure proper medication as well as good control of asthma.
According to him, most asthma patients do not use the medications correctly, thereby leading to other conditions that could be dangerous for the body. “If patients are regular on the medications, the asthma control will be better.
“There are some patients that have poor control of the disease as a result of not being able to buy the medications. We check for the level of control and encourage them to continue with the medications, but if it is not controlled, we look for the reasons and address those problems to make sure they have better quality of life,” he said.
