World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that tuberculosis (TB) kills one person every five minutes in Nigeria, despite being a curable disease.
The national programme officer for TB, WHO, Dr Amos Omoniyi, who stated this in Abuja, said in 2022, Africa region reported approximately 2.4 million cases of TB, with Nigeria contributing 479,000 cases (19 per cent), adding that out of the 424,000 TB-related deaths in Africa same year, 97,900 (23 per cent) occurred in Nigeria.
Omoniyi said “It is very sad and painful that people still die from TB every day despite being a curable and preventable disease.”
He frowns that Nigeria still has 70 percent funding gap in TB despite accounting for high burden of the disease.
He therefore, called for more investment in TB prevention and treatment in the country, saying “This disease is preventable and can be eradicated if government at all levels can invest more into tackling TB.”
World TB Day is marked on March 24 every year to create awareness about the impact of the disease.
