‘Nigeria records 500,000 TB cases annually’

Nigeria’s tuberculosis (TB) burden has reached a critical level, with about 500,000 new infections recorded every year, making it the country with the highest TB load in Africa and the sixth-highest globally.

The shocking figure, highlighted during the 66th National Council on Health (NCH) in Calabar, underscores the deepening cracks in detection, prevention, and treatment—particularly among vulnerable children.

The Global TB Report 2024 also shows that TB continues to claim Nigerian lives at a staggering rate, with one death occurring every eight minutes—a toll experts say is needless, preventable, and urgent.

Children remain disproportionately affected. 57,000 children contract TB annually, and although 80,000 qualify for preventive treatment, only 10,522 receive it, leaving tens of thousands exposed to avoidable illness and death.

At the Council meeting, experts described the situation as a national emergency requiring immediate political and financial commitment. They warned that sharp declines in international donor funding threaten to further weaken the country’s response if state governments do not urgently step up.

Mayowa Joel, Executive Secretary of Stop TB Partnership Nigeria, stressed that despite diagnosis and treatment being free, preventable deaths persist due to low awareness, stigma, and inadequate service reach. He reminded Nigerians that “TB is an airborne infectious disease, not a spiritual attack.”

Ibrahim Tajudeen, Executive Secretary of the Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM) for the Global Fund addressing HIV/AIDS, Malaria and tube, cautioned that donor contributions are dwindling and cannot sustain national TB control efforts.

He urged states to adopt innovative financing strategies, reduce out-of-pocket spending, and maximize the 1% Consolidated Revenue Fund currently supporting over 13,200 primary healthcare facilities across the country.

Council leaders reaffirmed that Nigeria can still meet the UN 2030 target to end TB, but only if states massively scale up funding, expand preventive therapy, strengthen early detection, and prioritize community-level care.

With half a million new infections every year, experts say Nigeria stands at a decisive crossroads: act now, or risk an escalating public health disaster.