Posted on: Sat 22-04-2017

Agnes Ochai, from Enugu, Nigeria has been unveiled as the winner of the first ever Women in Focus Community Champion Award – a prestigious international accolade celebrating the crucial role women play in the ongoing fight against Neglected Tropical Diseases.

Agnes's tireless work in the village of Ette, Enugu State made her a unanimous winner with the acclaimed judging panel who invited the Nigerian health worker to accept her trophy at a prominent awards ceremony in Geneva, Switzerland.

Agnes suffers from onchocercal infection, and over the years parasites have destroyed her skin, causing indescribable itching and severe depigmentation, in patterns often called "leopard skin". This form of onchocerciasis is highly stigmatized and Agnes was shunned by her community and some family members. Agnes needed to stay strong for her two young children so she used her own experience to start helping other people in her village, becoming a Community Drug Distributor, reaching out to other women at risk of exclusion. Agnes is incredibly selfless and has shown unwavering personal courage and strength in unimaginably hard circumstances.

 

Dr. Wendy Harrison, Chair of the NNN, says: "The Community Champion Award specifically shines a light onwomen from all over the world who are working in their local communities, making a remarkable impact on tackling Neglected Tropical Diseases. It is a real honor to acknowledge Agnes for the inspirational work she is doing in Nigeria, in exceptionally hard circumstances. The standard of entries in the competition was incredibly high so she should be justifiably proud of her achievement."

 

Agnes was nominated by Jesse Bump, a Lecturer on Global Health Policy at Harvard University.  He says: "Agnes is a farmer with a skin disease, often known as leopard skin because of the depigmentation patterns it causes. She was sadly shunned by her community and abandoned by her husband, but Agnes needed to stay strong for her two young children. She used her own experience to start helping other people in the village, becoming a Community Drug Distributor, reaching out to other women in risk of exclusion. Agnes is incredibly selfless and has shown unwavering personal courage and strength in unimaginably hard circumstances. There is no one more deserving of this incredible award."

As 2017 marks the 5th anniversary of the World Health Organization's roadmap on NTDs and the London Declaration, the Women in Focus awards celebrate this milestone by shining a light on the inspirational women working behind the scenes helping to control, eliminate and eradicate 10 neglected tropical diseases.

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