Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has called for a global fight against snakebites and the need to reduce impact especially in the tropical areas.
Mr. Annan explained that snakebite is a burden to the people living within the Amazon and therefore called on stakeholders to help reduce and bring concrete improvement to the health needs of the vulnerable people in these areas.
He made this known as the Kofi Annan Foundation welcomed a World Health Organisation (WHO) decision to include snakebites in the neglected tropical diseases portfolio.
It was contained in a tweet on Tuesday.
We must continue to work across sectors to reduce the burden of #snakebite & so bring concrete improvement to health of vulnerable people https://t.co/HatkT5cSum
A fact sheet reviewed in 2015 by WHO stated that though the exact number of snakebites is unknown, an estimated five million people are bitten each year with up to 2.5 million envenoming.
The sheet further stated that at least 100,000 people die as a result of snake bites each year, and around three times as many amputations and other permanent disabilities all caused by snakebites annually.
WHO considers rabies and envenoming – aside from snakebites – as other neglected public health issues.
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