Geneva advocates funding against tuberculosis in Nigeria

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3 years ago

The Executive Director of Stop TB Partnership in Geneva, Switzerland, Dr Lucica Ditiu has identified funding as a key challenge in the war against Tuberculosis in Nigeria.

In a meeting with the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, Executive Director said there was a need for Nigeria to close the huge tuberculosis financial gap and Improve diagnostics through priority funding of state governments.

“The increase of DR-TB infection is becoming a community transmission issue, Childhood TB on the increase, there is need to have more TB representatives on the CCM.

‘‘And there is a need for Nigeria to have an online live data platform where the progress can be centrally monitored,” she noted.

Dr Lucia however commended Nigeria for the strides achieved in the last 2 years.

The Executive Director who promised the support of the Stop TB Partnership in any way deemed fit, shared the experience from other countries, especially about the loan from the World Bank to increase resources for TB.

She however urged the Nigerian government to make office accommodation a priority so that the funding from the Global Fund would be reserved exclusively for programmatic use.

On his part, the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire who acknowledged that TB needed more support, promised to collaborate with the Ministry of Finance, the parliament, and also the secretary to the Government of the Federation.

”We will explore all avenues to see how more resources can be mobilized for the fight against TB,” he promised.

Minister who commended Stop TB Partnership and said that the ministry had also started partnership with the private sector to improve TB testing in the country.