Federal Government has said it is injecting N700 billion in the fight against HIV, AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and for immunisation. Chairman of the House Committee on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, Amobi Godwin Ogah, disclosed this, yesterday, at a pre-World TB Day press conference in Abuja, explaining that the amount would be a game-changer in the fight against TB and other deadly diseases, particularly in the wake of the withdrawal of U.S. financial support for Nigeria’s HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria programmes.

He said: “This was made possible with the help of our minister, who is so dear to this country, who believes that we have achieved it. This allocation, coming in the wake of the U.S. administration’s withdrawal of financial support for HIV, AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in Nigeria, is a welcome development and, I can say, it is a welcome development for us as a country. The House Committee on HIV, AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Control will continue to provide legislative mechanisms and interventions to support the fight against TB in Nigeria.”

The lawmaker appealed to the Federal Government to lobby the Global Fund to increase the global disease split in favour of 30 per cent for TB, as against the 18 per cent allocation.