Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Kazeem Biriowo
Published on 2024-03-19 15:34:55
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has expressed concern over the high mortality rate of Tuberculosis (TB) in Nigeria, despite the disease being curable. Medical experts are urging governments at all levels to increase their investment in TB control to meet Nigeria’s target of eradicating the disease by 2030.
During a pre-World TB Day press conference in Abuja, Dr. Amos Omoniyi, the National Programme Officer for TB at WHO, highlighted the persistent low levels of awareness about TB, especially in rural areas, which poses a significant challenge to efforts to tackle the disease. He emphasized that TB remains a global killer, with millions of deaths reported annually.
In 2022, the African region recorded approximately 2.4 million cases of TB, with Nigeria accounting for 479,000 cases, which is 19% of the total. Out of the 424,000 TB-related deaths in Africa that year, Nigeria accounted for 97,900 deaths, representing 23% of the total. Dr. Omoniyi lamented the fact that people continue to die from a preventable and curable disease like TB.
Despite being one of the countries with a high burden of TB, Nigeria is facing a 70% funding gap in TB control. Dr. Omoniyi stressed the importance of increased investment in TB control at all levels of government to combat the disease effectively.
Dr. Bertrand Odume, the Executive Director of KNCV TB Foundation Nigeria, emphasized the need for collaborative efforts to ramp up the fight against TB and achieve the goal of ending the disease by 2030. He highlighted the theme for the upcoming World Tuberculosis Day, which focuses on the collective power to achieve the 2023 UN High-Level Meeting on TB Political Declaration targets.
The theme also underscores the role of those affected by TB, communities, and civil society in leading the movement to end the disease. Dr. Odume mentioned the progress made in research and development, including the development of new TB diagnosis tools, more efficient treatment regimens, and vaccines in clinical trials.
He called for accelerated efforts to end TB, emphasizing the need to sustain progress made in finding missing TB cases, scaling up proven strategies, and advocating for increased funding from both the government and the private sector. Dr. Odume also mentioned the collaboration between KNCV, NTBLPC, and state TB programs to improve TB case detection in Nigeria under the USAID-supported TB LONDON project.
In conclusion, the fight against TB requires a comprehensive approach involving increased awareness, investment, and collaboration among stakeholders. By working together, Nigeria can achieve its goal of eradicating TB by 2030 and saving lives from this preventable disease.
Read the original article on Nigerian Tribune
