As Nigeria joins the rest of the globe to mark World Tuberculosis (TB) Day tomorrow to honour millions that lost their lives to the disease and renew advocacy around prevention, treatment and research, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has announced plans to hold “Yes! We Can End TB” events globally tomorrow to support everyone affected by ailment and encourage world leaders to play their part in ending the disease, described as 100 per cent preventable and treatable.
In 2021, TB claimed 1.6 million lives, with over 10 million infection, yet it remains neglected and underfunded in many countries. Amid acknowledgement that the scourge is a global epidemic, over 95 per cent of TB deaths occur in low-income countries.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated that finances were less than 40 per cent of what was needed to prevent and treat the disease in 2022.
In the face of this reality, it behoves Heads of State to prioritise prevention and stave millions of avoidable deaths.
“AHF has made TB a top priority with efforts focused on educating our staff and clients, screening for TB in our clinics and prioritising, preventing and treating HIV/TB co-infection, the number one cause of death for people living with HIV. As a preventable and treatable disease, world leaders must do more to end TB, and we’re calling on them to do just that on World TB Day and beyond,” said Terri Ford, AHF Chief of Global Advocacy and Policy.
Country Program Director, AHF Nigeria, Dr. Echey Ijezie, submitted: “With our World TB Day theme ‘Yes! We Can End TB,’ AHF urges all governments and public health institutions to do their part to ensure TB research, prevention and treatment programmes are fully funded and supported. We all must do more to finally stop TB worldwide, particularly in low-income countries.”
AHF country teams are using World TB Day to send letters to their respective Heads of State, calling on them to attend the United Nations High-Level Meeting on TB this September to show their commitment to ending tuberculosis in their countries.
AHF is also hosting a “Reviving TB Advocacy Worldwide” panel discussion with public health thought leaders and TB experts at the Consortium of Universities for Global Health conference on April 13.
Ending TB for us in Nigeria must come with intensified level of case finding and for patients, who show up in hospitals to embrace treatment, which is free across health facilities in the country. Importantly, we must increase the funding available to TB, improve the level of education and awareness, as well as engage pointedly, the rising incidences of stigma related to the disease, while not forgetting that TB is curable,” Ijezie added.
He further stated, ‘’Nigeria’s situation deserves urgent attention as the World Health Organization (WHO) lists the nation among the ten countries accounting for 64% of the global gap in TB case finding, with India, Indonesia and Nigeria accounting for almost half of the total gap’’, said Ijezie.
