The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that Nigeria was not on track to meeting the 2030 target on Tuberculosis eradication, due to missing cases.
WHO’s national professional officer, Tuberculosis (TB) in Nigeria, Dr Amos Omoniyi, stated this on Thursday during a virtual media round table, with the topic: Journey to end TB by 2030: How far are we? organised by the Stop TB Partnership Nigeria and the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme (NTBLCP).
He stressed the need for the country to prioritise investment in TB awareness especially at the communities where a lot of cases are still undetected while lamenting that paucity of funds was a contributing factor to the setback as about 70 per cent of TB budget in 2021 was not released.
Recall that the national coordinator and director, National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme ((NTBLCP), Dr. Chukwuma Anyaike, had lamented that funding to TB diagnoses and treatment has continued to fall below what is expected and it is threatening the country’s ability to achieve its plan.
Anyaike noted that a high out of pocket expenditure in accessing TB care further complicates the treatment of TB in the country, stressing that increasing funding from domestic and international donors is urgently needed if the nation will have to successfully implement the 2021 – 2025 TB strategic plan, which is a plan towards achieving SDG goal of ending TB by 2030.
He, however, said that the country was strategising on ending TB through evaluation of past strategies and interventions, coordination and multi-sectoral engagement.
Also speaking, the deputy executive director, Stop TB Partnership, Geneva, Dr Sahu Savunand, said globally, $250 billion is needed annually to fight TB while tasking Nigeria on political commitments and increased domestic funding, saying Nigeria has no reason not to eradicate TB given its level of commitment.
