Nigeria, Dec. 19 -- Nigeria has chalked up a major public health victory, with about 47.1 million citizens no longer needing treatment for lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis) and onchocerciasis (river blindness), according to the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako.

Salako disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja at the close-out ceremony of the BLON Project, a landmark intervention that delivered the most extensive assessments ever carried out for the two diseases across 13 states.

He explained that the project was crafted to plug a gaping hole in Nigeria's elimination roadmap for both diseases and was bankrolled with 4.9 million dollars from the Gates Foundation.

"Nigeria has exceeded its disease-control targ...