To eradicate Tuberculosis, the World Health Organization, KNCV Nigeria, and other expert have asked the government to increase investment to achieve Nigeria’s goal by 2030.
This call was made at a press conference in Abuja ahead of the World Tuberculosis Day on March 24 2024.
This disease is an infectious killer, and it is caused by bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) that affect the lungs.
According to them, the awareness in the rural areas is very low and a threat to the effort being put in to end this deadly disease.
Dr Amos Omoniyi, a representative of the WHO stated that TB is a killer disease with a global death rate of millions recorded annually. One person dies of TB every five minutes in Nigeria despite being curable.
Currently, Nigeria, Africa is rank sixth with the highest burden of the disease among 30 countries worldwide.
The Executive Director of KNCV TB Foundation in Nigeria, Dr Odume Bethrand stated that there is urgent need to join hands together to fight against TB to achieve the goal to end the disease just as the work put in 2023 by many TB High Burden Countries and Champions and the civil society all strides to recover from COVID-19 pandemic.
To maintain the progress made in finding a solution to this TB cases, The government and private sector needs to improve funding in tackling the disease as well as identify the progress made in research and development.
The KNCV are in collaboration with the National Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Buruli Ulcer Control Programme, and the state TB programme in 14 supported states to better TB detection case in Nigeria under the USAID-supported TB Local Organisation Network project.
