The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has expressed dissatisfaction over rise in the number of Tuberculosis (TB) infections cases among children, particularly in primary and secondary schools across Nigeria.
Report showed that Nigeria still ranks sixth in the world and first in Africa for the burden of tuberculosis as the World Health Organisation (WHO) noted that an estimated 156,000 Nigerians die yearly from tuberculosis.
The USAID Nigeria Team Lead, Dr Temitayo Odusote made the revelation at the Pre-World TB Day Press Conference organised by Stop TB Partnership Nigeria in collaboration with the National TB and Leprosy Control Programme (NTBLCP), with support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and other stakeholders.
Odusote said the number of notified TB cases increase from less than 20,000 in 2003 to over 207,000 cases in 2021 and the Agency is supporting the government at the national and state levels to detect and treat patients at private hospitals and the communities.
“Incidentally, we are finding an epidemic of TB in primary and secondary schools. We all have a role to play; even if it is just to screen all our students for TB. We encourage testing and screening for tuberculosis”.
Also the National Coordinator of the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme (NTBLCP) of the Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Chukwuma Anyaike said the government has worked in some of the states such as Sokoto, Anambra and others as he explained that there is currently a funding gap of 70 per cent in the TB programme.
The Executive Director of KNCV TB Foundation Nigeria pointed out that resource mobilisation for TB must come from the government.
“About 24 per cent of TB funding comes from international donors while a paltry seven per cent comes from the government”.
“Apart from the low domestic funding for TB, when there is an allocation for TB, we don’t get them released. However, some states have included TB treatment in their health insurance. He added.
The Acting Board Chairman of Stop TB Partnership in Nigeria, Dr. Queen Ogbuji also disclosed that in Nigeria, out of the $373 million needed for Tuberculosis(TB) control in Nigeria in the year 2020, only 31% was available to all the implementers of Tuberculosis control activities in Nigeria (7% domestic and 24% donor funds), with 69% funding gap.
Ogbuji further disclosed that the Global US$15 billion annual funding for TB promised by world leaders at the United Nations High-Level Meeting (UNHLM on TB in 2018), less than half has been delivered.
While speaking further, Ogbuji said TB remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious killers adding that about 4,100 people lose their lives to TB daily and nearly 30,000 people fall ill with this preventable and curable disease.
“TB is the leading cause of death of people with HIV and a major contributor to antimicrobial resistance. Global efforts to combat TB have saved an estimated 66 million lives since the year 2000”.
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