Experts have said that the adoption of the public-private partnership (PPP) model for TB control is crucial to ending the disease in Nigeria.
They stated this in Abuja during the National Stakeholders’ Consultation on Public-Private Partnership to End TB in Nigeria. It was organised by Stop TB Partnership Nigeria, in collaboration with the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Program (NTBLCP), with support from Stop TB Partnership Geneva.
Dr. Queen Ogbuji-Ladipo, Acting Board Chair, Stop TB Partnership Nigeria said collaboration between the government and the private sector plays a pivotal role in the fight against TB, adding that it has a transformative impact on TB control.
She said, “The launch of the TB Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Advocacy Project, culminating in the establishment of the PPP Advocacy Team, underscores our acknowledgment of the pivotal role that Public-Private Partnerships play in the fight against TB.”
She said TB remains one of the top-priority diseases in Nigeria and that the country is also ranked in the global list of high-burden countries for TB, and MultiDrug Resistant/Rifampicin-Resistant TB (MDR/RR-TB) according to the 2023 Global Tuberculosis Report published by the World Health Organization (WHO).
“It is imperative to note that TB is a curable preventable disease, and eradicating it requires multi-stakeholder efforts and commitments,” she said.
She added that the organisation was taking advantage of the huge patronage of private health facilities to strengthen its advocacy, contact tracing as well as case finding.
The Director of Public Health at the Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Chukwuma Anyaike, said PPP will help the country in the diagnosis and finding of TB cases.
He said, “As a national program and as the federal ministry of health, one of the strategies we are thinking about is to get the best diagnostic platform where we can detect latent TB. Those in the private or manufacturing sector can support us with diagnostics equipment.”
The Executive Secretary, Stop TB Partnership Nigeria, Mayowa Joel, said the stakeholders’ consultation was aimed at setting up the PPP advocacy team, and to facilitate discussions on fostering partnerships between the public and private sectors to enhance access to TB services.
Amos Omoniyi of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Nigeria office said 2.3 million TB cases will be diagnosed and treated between 2023 and 2027, which translates to an average of 120,000 TB cases per quarter.
He said there was 35% reduction in TB deaths from 2015 to 2022, adding that 75% reduction is targeted in 2025, 90% reduction in 2030 and 95% reduction in 2035.
He said currently, 71% of the TB patients and their household are experiencing catastrophic costs, adding that the target is that 100 per cent of people with tuberculosis have access to a health and social benefits package, so they do not have to endure financial hardship because of their illness.
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