Nigeria among the 30 high burden countries with TB – expert
A group has urged government for more funds towards putting an end to the preventable and curable disease like Tuberculosis, adding that is very important to addressing the needless deaths.
According to Akin Jimoh, Programme Director of Development Communications Network (DevComs Network), who also doubles as 2nd Vice Chairman, Lagos State Stop TB Partnership Nigeria, there was need for conscious and deliberate efforts.
Jimoh made this disclosure in a press statement made available to Punch Healthwise on Thursday, in commemoration of the 2022 World TB Day, themed, “Invest to End TB. Save Lives”.
The date marks the day in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch announced that he had discovered the bacterium that causes TB, which opened the way towards diagnosing and curing this disease.
Punch Healthwise reports that World TB Day is an opportunity to focus on the people affected by this disease and to call for accelerated action to end TB suffering and deaths, especially in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
He explained that government needed to pay urgent attention to the response to TB disease which has not gone anywhere despite Nigerians’ distraction due to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Jimoh, of the $373 million needed for TB control in Nigeria in the year 2020, only 31% was available to all the implementers of TB control activities (7% domestic and 24% donor funds), with 69% funding gap.
“TB is a huge burden in Nigeria which can be tackled with adequate investment, it can be prevented, diagnosed, treated and cured. The Nigerian government must step up and triple or quadruple TB funding to save lives and end TB by 2030,” Jimoh said.
DevComs boss identified that TB response has become an urgent priority because it is a major public health challenge which kills millions of people every year.
He added, “We need to continuously sound the alarm on the unacceptable low levels of funding for the TB response annually in Nigeria.
