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4000 shot fall of TB cases yearly worrisome – Cross River, Breakthrough Action

By Tina Agosi Todo, Calabar
24 March 2023   |   6:21 pm
The Cross River State Director of Public Health Mr Jonah Offor has said that the state is having a shot fall of about 4000 tuberculosis cases out of the 8,000 cases expected to be notified.

Stakeholders at the sensitisation and campaign excecise to commemorate the 2023 World Tuberculosis Day at the Ministry of Health, Calabar, Cross River State.

The Cross River State Director of Public Health Mr Jonah Offor has said that the state is having a shot fall of about 4000 tuberculosis cases out of the 8,000 cases expected to be notified.

He disclosed this yesterday during the sensitisation and campaign exercise to mark the 2023 World Tuberculosis Day organized by Breakthrough Action with support from USAID and other partners at the Ministry of Health premises in Calabar.

While worried that the number is far less than what is expected to be notified, the Director of Public Health said only an average of 5000 cases approximately is notified yearly.

Offor said this indicated that the state is having a lot of missing cases of TB which mostly are found in the rural areas.

“Giving a breakdown to The Guardian shortly after the event, Offor explained,” Globally, about 1.6m people die of tuberculosis, this is applicable to Nigeria and Cross River State. The prevalence of tuberculosis is 219 per 100,000 people. this prevalence is applicable to the whole country.

“In Cross River State, we notify between 1200 to 1500 cases of tuberculosis every quarter, so in a year, we make an average of 4500 to about 5000, this is far less from the number we are expected to be notifying every year.

“We are expected to be notifying about 8000 cases every year but in the situation that we are notifying 4500 or 5000 every year that means we have a shot fall of approximately 3500 or 4000 which means that we have a lot of missing TB cases and most of this missing cases are found in our rural communities.” The Perm Sec. Disclosed.

He however noted that the good news is that a lot of efforts are being made to identify the missing cases through active case finding with the help of the communities and implementing partners like USAID, Breakthrough Action and others.

Speaking on this year’s theme; ‘Yes we can end TB’, the representative of Breakthrough Action Nigeria, Mrs Pascaline Edem, said, “It is a message of hope, a message that shows that with everybody’s effects, governments, individuals, both religious leaders, as long as they are human. That is why Breakthrough Action as an implementing partner here in Cross River is here today to join other partners to say yes we are together in this fight and together we can actually end TB with support from USAID.”

Speaking on behalf of the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Janet Ekpenyong, the Permanent. Secretary. Ministry of Health, Dr Pauline Obetem, hinted that “Tuberculosis is a disease that has become endemic, it has come to stay with us year in year out but the good news is that, it is highly preventable and that is why we can end it.

“There is no rocket science and here we are with a target to put an end to Tuberculosis, to have zero tolerance to tuberculosis by 2030 which is about seven years from now.” She assured.

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