Abuja, Nigeria – On Friday, Nigeria joined the rest of the world in commemorating World Tuberculosis Day (WTD). The Minister of State for Health, Dr Ekumankama Joseph Nkama, reported that only one in every four Nigerians was aware of the disease.
Despite free testing and medication, Nigeria ranks highest among countries with childhood Tuberculosis in the world, according to the WHO’s global Tuberculosis (TB) Report. Nigeria also carries a heavy burden of TB and resistance to TB medications.
“TB is a curable disease,” said Nkama, who emphasized the need for people coughing for more than two weeks to ensure they get tested. “All the interventions of the Federal Government are yielding positive results. We have been able to expand the TB facilities from 2, 038 in 2014 to over 20,000. I, therefore, encourage Nigerians to be their brother’s keepers.”
Dr Walter Kazadi Mulombo, WHO Country Representative, said that Nigeria had made a commitment to diagnose and treat 1,109,000 TB cases and place 2,183,890 clients on TB preventive Therapy (TPT) from 2018 to 2022. However, after the end of 2022, the country was yet to showcase achievements of this commitment.
“Too many people are pushed into poverty when they contract TB due to lost income, transport costs, and other expenses,” said Mulombo. “About 69 per cent of the Tuberculosis budget in 2021 was unfunded; this is a major threat to the country’s efforts in achieving the set targets. WHO will continue to support the country in developing and implementing guidelines, plans, frameworks and strategic documents to end the TB epidemic in the nation.”
Since 2003, Nigeria has remained in the top 10 countries affected by TB with one of the lowest detection rates globally, according to Omosalewa Oyelaran, Deputy Director, Office of HIV/ AIDS and TB USAID Nigeria. In collaboration with the Government of Nigeria, and other national and international partners, USAID has contributed more than $250 million to TB control efforts in the country.