Undernutrition, HIV topmost drivers of TB in Nigeria – FG

The Federal Ministry of Health says undernutrition and HIV remain the topmost drivers of the tuberculosis burden in Nigeria.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and  Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, stated this in Abuja during the commemoration of the 2024 World TB Day.

He said TB is a major public health problem in Nigeria and globally, adding that “TB continues to be the second leading cause of death from a single infectious agent and has caused almost twice as many deaths as HIV/AIDS.”

He said an estimated 97,900 TB deaths occurred in Nigeria in 2022, equating to one person dying from TB every five minutes even when the disease is curable and preventable.

He said efforts at ending the TB epidemic in Nigeria resulted in the expansion of TB treatment services (DOTs centres) to about 22,000 health facilities and GeneXpert equipment – a rapid molecular test for TB – to 512 as of the end of 2023.

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Pate said the federal government will conduct a National Drug-Resistant Survey through the support of USAID and partners to determine the actual burden of drug-resistant TB.

He said this would guide the targeted actions in addressing the epidemic of drug-resistant TB in Nigeria.

The Acting Board chair, Stop TB Partnership Nigeria, Dr Queen Ogbuji-Ladipo, said in recognition of the urgent need for increased advocacy, awareness, and action to eliminate the TB scourge, the First Lady and the wives of state governors have been identified as critical stakeholders who are committed to leveraging their influence and platforms to raise awareness, mobilize resources, advocate for policy changes, and drive action to strengthen the country’s TB response efforts at national and sub-national levels.

The Minister of State Police Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, who is also a TB survivor, said she was misdiagnosed before being finally diagnosed and treated for TB of the stomach.