TB kills 250,000 Nigerians yearly — Minister

Nigeria records close to 250,000 deaths every year from Tuberculosis and is currently number four after India, Indonesia, and China that account for 80 percent of global TB burden, Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole said yesterday.
Adewole raised alarm over the rising cases of undetected and undiagnosed Tuberculosis at a ceremony to mark the 2016 World Tuberculosis Day in Abuja, warning that no one is safe from the epidemic in Nigeria.
According to the minister, the 2015 global TB report revealed that of the estimated 9.6m incidents of tuberculosis cases globally, only six million cases had been detected and notified, leaving an estimated 3.6m cases either not diagnosed or diagnosed but not reported.
He said the major constraint faced by the country in addressing the huge burden of Tuberculosis is the funding gap, stating that in 2015; only 32 per cent of the $228m required was realized, leaving a funding gap of $155m.