The Federal Government has pledged to eliminate tuberculosis as a public health issue by 2030 and ultimately achieving the global TB targets by 2035.
First Lady of Nigeria, who is also the Global and National Stop TB Champion,
Sen. Oluremi Tinubu stated this on Tuesday, at the 2024 National TB Conference held in Abuja.
Speaking at the conference themed “Public-Private Partnership and Integrated Service Delivery – Panacea to End TB in Nigeria”, Tinubu reiterated her dedication to the fight against TB, focusing on public-private partnerships and integrated service delivery to ensure no one is left behind.
She noted that the global burden of TB remained alarming, particularly in low and middle-income countries like Nigeria:
“According to the 2024 WHO Global Tuberculosis Report, an estimated 10.8 million people developed TB in 2023, with 1.6 million lives lost. Of these, 12% affected the most vulnerable – children and young adolescents”, the First Lady said.
She disclosed that Nigeria’s TB burden ranked sixth globally and first in Africa, with approximately 467,000 cases reported in 2023.
She noted that while progress had been made through the Tinubu administration’s efforts, civil society organisations, healthcare providers, and international partners, she said there was need for sustained investment and innovative strategies to overcome barriers to care and support.
“As the Stop TB Champion, I am committed to the collective fight against TB. I believe the solution lies in strong public-private partnerships and integrated service delivery. I am pleased that funds I donated earlier this year have been used to procure additional TB diagnostic tools to enhance case detection”, she said.
On his part, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, emphasised the need for inclusive, rights-based, and gender-responsive approaches to eliminating the disease.
Pate announced that the Nigerian private sector had committed $25 million to support TB initiatives, including integrating TB control into workplace health programmes and expanding health insurance coverage. He also urged state governments to prioritise TB in their budgets and complement federal efforts.
The World Health Organisation aims to end the global TB epidemic by 2035, including reducing TB deaths by 95%, TB incidence by 90%, and eliminating catastrophic costs for TB-affected households compared to 2015 levels.
