Beyond awareness: How community science can defeat Buruli Ulcer by Remmy Nweke - WeekendSalvo@NaijaAgroNet

Awareness alone cannot defeat Buruli ulcer. Across riverine communities where this neglected tropical disease continues to inflict preventable disabilities, sustainable victory depends on translating scientific knowledge into community action. In this concluding part of the Ulee-Okpa trilogy, REMMY NWEKE examines how community science, environmental stewardship and evidence-based public health can transform the fight against Buruli ulcer.

Awareness is only the first step:
For years, health professionals have emphasised the importance of educating communities about Buruli ulcer, locally known in some parts of southeastern Nigeria as Ulee-Okpa. Posters have been printed, radio programmes aired, and awareness campaigns organised to encourage people to seek treatment early.

When myths delay treatment: Tackling misinformation to protect communities against Buruli Ulcer by Remmy Nweke - WeekendSalvo@NaijaAgroNet

Deep within the rural, riverine, and agrarian communities that form the agricultural backbone of West Africa, an unseen, flesh-eating predator moves without a sound. 

It begins innocently; a painless, movable nodule beneath the skin, a small plaque, or a localized swelling that is easily mistaken for a common insect bite, an ordinary boil, or a minor farm injury. Weeks later, without warning, it erupts into an open, necrotizing lesion with jagged, deeply undermined borders that aggressively eats through subcutaneous fat, deep tissue, and eventually, bone.

Beyond GH¢2.00 band-aid: Why Ghana must reimagine school feeding via Central Kitchens, PPPs by Chef Elijah Addo - NaijaAgroNet

The Government of Ghana deserves commendation for increasing the Ghana School Feeding Programme feeding grant from GH¢1.50 to GH¢2.00 per child per day. At a time when food inflation has eroded purchasing power and placed enormous pressure on caterers, this increase, alongside the removal of the tax component, signals the government’s continued commitment to protecting one of Ghana’s most important social protection programmes.

It is a positive decision.

Yet, if we are honest with ourselves, GH¢2.00 remains only a scratch on the surface of what is required to deliver nutritious, safe, and quality meals to over four million Ghanaian school children every school day . The challenge facing Ghana’s school feeding programme is no longer simply about increasing the feeding grant. It is about transforming the entire delivery model.