By Adeyefa Boluwatife
Experts on Parkinson’s disease and people living with the condition, yesterday, urged government to subsidise their medication, saying the cost has become a burden on patients and their families.
They also called for Parkinson’s medication to be included on the list of essential drugs to improve access to treatment, while urging federal and state governments to support early diagnosis and expand access to care.
They spoke at the fourth edition of the Walking Football for Parkinson’s Disease, WFPD, Tournament, organised by Parkinson’s Africa and the Adewunmi Desalu Parkinson’s Foundation, ADPF, with support from LES Energy Services Limited and other partners, at Eagle Club, Surulere, Lagos.
Speaking at the event, Founding Trustee of ADPF, Maureen Desalu, lamented that medication for a person living with Parkinson’s could cost as much as N50,000 to N70,000 a month, almost equivalent of the minimum wage.
Desalu said some families were going without food, while others could not pay school fees, just to purchase the medication.
She said: “We need Parkinson’s medication on a list of essential drugs. We need government to support us in getting access to that medication at a lower cost. What we seek to achieve with this competition is to tell people about Parkinson’s disease and to explain to people how exercise is the only thing that generates dopamine in the human brain. So, anybody living with Parkinson’s has to keep moving. We chose the game of football basically because a lot of people with Parkinson’s are male. I would say like 75 per cent are male, and a lot of males used to play football when they were younger.
“Therefore, it’s good for them to be able to still play football in spite of the fact that they have a challenge with Parkinson’s. But as you can see, we have a lot of people with young-onset Parkinson’s disease. We have people under 30. We have a lot of women in their 40s.
“It was a male thing, but now, there are women getting Parkinson’s. We have realised that this is a growing problem. Parkinson’s is the fastest-spreading neurodegenerative disease in 2026. Therefore, it’s not something we can ignore. Not something government should ignore. It is not something state governments, federal government should ignore. We need help. We need as much support as we can, and that starts with just medication.”
Also speaking, Chairman of the Advisory Council of ADPF, Dr Aderemi Desalu, urged government to support people who could not afford treatment, saying other states should emulate Lagos State, which he said was doing a good job of assisting people living with the condition.
Desalu said: “The biggest thing we need to do now is make sure we are all aware of it. Make sure we all know where to go for treatment. Make sure we know where to go for a community because one of the greatest challenges of a person with Parkinson’s is the lack of community, where they meet other people who have Parkinson’s and share experiences.
“Lagos State government is very good in this regard, and they are very helpful in making sure that they help us do what we need to do. I’m not sure if you are aware, but all the work we do is pro bono, which means we don’t charge for anything. All our physiotherapy sessions, everything we do from our offices, is absolutely free. It is the donors that pay for it.
“For the at least 220 people under our care, some of them can afford their medication, but there are some who can’t because the medication isn’t cheap. So, for those who can’t afford it, we also take it upon ourselves to provide them with that medication.”
Meanwhile, a freight forwarder, Mr Wale Alarape, who lives with Parkinson’s, said the major challenge faced by many patients was the high cost of medication. He called on the government to subsidise the drugs.
Alarape said: “If government can do anything for us on this drug, it will be to subsidise it. This is because whatever money anybody that has Parkinson’s has, or whatever money they have been given, they use it to buy drugs. Like me, I use my drug every six hours. I live on drugs, and I use four drug tablets daily. So, it is 10 per sachet. So, probably in a month, I use 30. We need government intervention to help us subsidise it.”
For his part, another person living with the condition, Anthony Chukwuka, urged people with Parkinson’s to exercise regularly, saying the disease affects the muscles involved in movement.
Chukwuka, who is an architect, said: “To help you navigate the movement area, you need to do constant exercise. Parkinson’s attacks different areas where the muscle is involved. And when you exercise those areas, you’ll find out you can cope with the disease.”
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