The government is also leveraging digital health solutions and exploring the use of digital tools, mobile technology, and artificial intelligence to enhance surveillance, case management, and adherence to treatment.
Statistics show that 372 local councils do not have machines to rapidly diagnose the disease and identify drug resistance, while only 50 per cent of health facilities provide TB treatment services.
Nigeria is currently ranked 1st in Africa and 6th globally among the 30 high burden countries for TB with an estimated 499,000 Nigerians that developed TB in 2023.
National Coordinator, National TB, Leprosy and Buruli Ulcer Control Programme, Dr Labaran Shehu, who disclosed this in Abuja, said TB is a serious public health issue, and about 71,000 Nigerians died from the disease in 2023.
Shehu, who was represented by the Deputy Director of the National TB and Leprosy Control Programme, Dr Urhioke Ochuko, lamented that poverty and malnutrition are driving the epidemic, adding that the National Tuberculosis Catastrophic Cost Survey showed that about 71 per cent of TB patients in Nigeria suffer from financial hardship.
“Catastrophic cost means that they spend over 20 per cent of their household income on TB treatment and 23 per cent of them sold their properties as a result of tuberculosis.
“We want everyone to be covered because one untreated case of tuberculosis is capable of infecting 12 to 15 other persons in a year. Those cases that we are not able to put on treatment, they serve as a reservoir for ongoing transmission of tuberculosis in our communities,” he said.
He stated that over 400 molecular platforms are being distributed across the country to bridge the gap in diagnosis.
Also speaking, the Director of Public Health in the ministry, Dr Godwin Ntadom, said that TB mostly affects people of productive age group (25 – 44 years), driving many families into poverty with untoward consequences on the economy.
Ntadom noted that the situation is further exacerbated by poverty, malnutrition, overcrowded living conditions, and limited access to quality healthcare services.
He observed that the government’s priorities include expanding TB screening, diagnostic and treatment services in both the public and private health facilities in line with the universal health coverage agenda, strengthening community engagement – by working closely with traditional and religious leaders, as well as community-based organisations.
Ntadom noted that the government is scaling up community TB screening, increasing awareness, reducing the stigma associated with TB and integrating TB services into reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health plus nutrition and other related services.
“With the meticulous implementation of WHO-recommended strategies, the NTBLCP in collaboration with its partners have made remarkable progress in the fight against TB in Nigeria. The country had its highest-ever TB notification of more than 400,000 TB cases identified in 2024 out of the estimated 506,000 Nigerians with TB.
“This translated to about 79 per cent treatment coverage and deserves commendation. We have made good progress in TB notification among children, increasing from just 8,293 in 2018 to about 43,000 children treated with TB in 2024,” he said.
Ntadom stated that despite achievements, there is still a significant number of missing TB cases that constitute a reservoir for ongoing transmission of TB in communities, and a more worrisome trend is the suboptimal enrollment of diagnosed DR-TB patients on treatment in the last five years.
He stressed the need to mobilise resources and strengthen collective commitment to ending TB in Nigeria.
