Ododo’s wife launches initiative to check TB menace in Kogi

Sefinat Ahmed Usman Ododo, wife of Kogi State governor, has promised to use her office to stop the scourge of Tuberculosis (TB) in the state.

Ododo gave the assurance during the launching of ‘Stop TB Partnership Nigeria Champions’ in collaboration with Kogi State Ministry of Health in Lokoja. The Kogi First Lady said that the campaign represented a vital step towards raising awareness and ensuring effective treatment for TB in the state.

“Our collective efforts today will help to drive home the message that tuberculosis is preventable, treatable and curable.

“I extend heartfelt appreciation to all the partners, stakeholders, healthcare professionals and communities who have supported this initiative. As we embark on this campaign, let us remain committed, focused and determined to make a difference.

“I am honoured to accept the call to serve as the ‘Stop TB Champion for Kogi State’, and I am using the opportunity to call on the wives of the chairmen of the 21 local government areas, to serve as LGA TB champions,” Ododo said.

She said that the campaign represents a vital step towards raising awareness and ensuring effective treatment for those affected by TB across the state.

Read also: 1,500 cases of tuberculosis detected in Plateau Q1 2024

Ododo equally advised the people to go for testing if coughing persist more than two weeks for early diagnosis and treatment, as she commended Oluremi Tinubu, the wife of President Bola Tinubu, for taking the lead as the ambassador of the Global and National Stop TB champion earlier this year.

She pointed out that Tinubu had, during the investiture, decorated the wives of governors as TB Champions for their states, to raise the awareness and ensure that the treatable disease is brought to the barest minimum.

In his remarks, Adams Abdulazeez, Commissioner for Health, Kogi State, said that governor Ahmed Ododo had invested a lot in the health sector, including the revitalisation of primary healthcare centers in the state.

Abdulazeez stressed that the governor was determined to provide more TB diagnostics and treatment services centers across the 21 local government areas of the state, noting that the disease has remained a public health concern, though preventable, treatable and curable if detected early and treated properly.