FG expresses readiness to end Tuberculosis in the country

With the launching of the GeneXpert MTB/RIF technology on Friday in Abuja as the primary diagnostic tool for Tuberculosis (TB) infection, the federal government has demonstrated its readiness to bring the scourge to an end, says Isaac Adewole, minister for health.

The launching of the machine to commemorate World Tuberculosis Day 2017 is expected to increase the number of TB cases notified in the country and the guidelines, tools andStandard operating procedures SOPs to enhance TB control efforts.

Adewole said that government has also ensured the integration of TB into the core-package of revitalization agenda of PHCs in the country and  scaled up access to quality assured Drug Resistant TB diagnostic (DR TB) and treatment services.

He reiterated the essence of the world Tuberculosis Day saying that it is designed to raise awareness on this disease of public health importance; and, it is also a moment for us as a country to reflect on how much progress we have made in the fight against TB.

“Despite all our successes in TB control, most of the TB patients in the country are still not being detected thereby enlarging the pool of infectious individuals.

An estimated number of 586,000 TB cases occurred in Nigeria in 2016; with only about 17 % (100,434) of these cases being detected and notified by the TB Programme. About 83% of the TB cases in the country are undetected, the implications of this is that, there are lot of undiagnosed TB cases in the community which serve as reservoir for continue transmission of TB.”

“The treatment of TB can be brought to the community level and there is absolutely no reason why any Nigerian should die of Tuberculosis. Test & Treatment of TB is FREE”

“Today, the flagging-off of the use of GeneXpert machine at PHC level is another historic feat to re-assure Nigerians that this government cares about her citizen especially in the rural areas,” he said.

He further said the administration through the Federal Ministry of Health and in collaboration with Partners has taken some bold steps to control TB in Nigeria.

The minister listed some of new steps to include the nine reference laboratories in the country and the increased provision of integrated and patient centered TB/HIV services to all health facilities with the aim of reducing morbidity and mortality.

The fact that government has also embarked on the use of electronic platform (e-TB Manager) to capture information on Drug Susceptible TB (DS-TB) has led to reduction of the scourge.

This, according to the minister, is in addition to that of the Drug Resistant TB (DR-TB) and mobilization of resources to scale-up the GX Alert system which gives real time information on the diagnosis of drug resistant TB cases across the country.

The theme for this year’s World TB Day is Unite to End TB in Nigeria and the Slogan is “Accelerating TB case finding and Treatment”,

According to the 2016 WHO Global TB report, there were an estimated 10.4 million new TB cases worldwide in 2015, of which 5.9 million (56%) were among men, 3.5 million (34%) among women and 1.0 million (10%) among children.

Our dear country, Nigeria, is among the six countries that accounted for 60% of the new cases globally.

Nigeria ranks 4th among the 30 high TB burden countries globally and it is number one in Africa. Unfortunately, the burden of the disease in Nigeria is further made worse by the negative effects of the interactions between TB and HIV. TB is the most common life-threatening disease and the number one killer among People Living with HIV (PLHIV). Furthermore, the emergence of drug resistant TB currently impacts negatively on TB control efforts in the country.