The World Health Organisation (WHO) Global Tuberculosis (TB) Report 2024 has revealed that Nigeria recorded approximately 467,000 tuberculosis cases in 2023, out of an estimated 10.8 million people who developed TB globally.
The report also revealed that 1.6 million people died from TB related causes within the year under review. Speaking at the ongoing 2024 National TB Conference yesterday in Abuja, the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Representative, Dr Walter Kazadi Mulombo, noted that the 2024 WHO Global TB Report identifies Nigeria as one of the 13 countries estimated to have achieved a reduction of 50% or more in number of deaths caused by TB between 2015 and 2023.
The conference themed: ‘Public-Private Partnership and Integrated Service Delivery: Panacea to End TB in Nigeria’, was organised by the Stop Partnership Nigeria in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and other partners.
According to Mulombo, the Federal Government’s decisive action in 2024 to establish a TB matching fund with the private sector was a clear demonstration of innovative thinking and a commitment to leveraging all available resources.
He said: “By aligning public and private sector efforts, this partnership embodies a shared vision to ensure no one is left behind in accessing TB prevention, diagnosis, and treatment services. “Congratulations, Nigeria, for the progress over the last five years in advancing the national TB response.
Indeed, it is gaining more and more recognition. We continue to receive every day requests for Nigeria to go and share experience globally, and we are proud of it.
“With just six years left to achieve the 2030 target to end the TB epidemic as a public health problem, urgent and bold actions are still needed.
We must prioritise inclusive strategies that address the needs of all population groups and ensure adequate funding. Strengthening primary care and community-based TB care will be crucial in identifying and treating each and every TB case that is detected.”
The Acting Board Chair, Stop TB Partnership Nigeria, Dr. Queen Ogbuji-Ladipo regretted that despite achieving a 24% decline in TB incidence rates between 2015 and 2023, Nigeria still remains among the 30 high-burden countries that account for 87% of the world’s TB cases, including HIV-associated TB (TB/ HIV) and drug-resistant TB (MDR/RR-TB).
While highlighting that Nigeria has intensified efforts to improve TB detection, treatment, and prevention, she, however, noted that with the several challenges still persisting, significant progress was still needed to enable Nigeria meet global targets for ending TB.
In her remarks, Chief, TB Division, Global Health Bureau, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Washington D.C. Cheri Vincent, described the progress Nigeria attained in the fight against in the last five years as “amazing.”
