The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has reaffirmed its commitment to eradicate tuberculosis (TB) in the country by 2030.
The governors stated this in a declaration read by its Chairman and Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi in honour of World Tuberculosis Day in 2021.
According to Fayemi, Tuberculosis is an airborne disease that affects millions of people regardless of their socioeconomic status.
“It is still the world’s deadliest infectious disease, despite the fact that it is preventable and curable.
Nigeria currently has one of the highest TB burdens in the world, ranking first in Africa and sixth globally.
“Every day, 18 Nigerians are estimated to die of tuberculosis, equating to 432 people per month and 157,000 per year,” he said.
According to Fayemi, the government and partners have implemented a variety of interventions over the last decade to ensure that people with tuberculosis are identified and treated.
However, he stated that the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic and its control measures in 2020 had a negative effect on the health system, including TB services, reversing previous progress.
Despite the setback, Fayemi stated that the government, in collaboration with other stakeholders, was working to address the issues.
These, he said, included strengthening the state TB program’s capacity to be more effective in its role, as well as supporting the revitalization and upgrading of health facilities to provide adequate TB services, particularly diagnosis.
He also identified measures such as mobilizing more domestic resources for the state’s TB program and activities, as well as forming multi-stakeholder State Stop TB Partnerships.
“As a result, in keeping with this year’s World Tuberculosis Day with the theme “The Clock is Ticking,” we reaffirm our commitment to work with other stakeholders to eradicate TB in our respective states.
“We also urge the Federal Government to provide the necessary assistance to states in order for them to be able to domesticate and meet the targets and commitments made at the United Nations high-level meeting on tuberculosis in 2018.”
“With these targets and commitments, we expect to be back on track by 2022 in our efforts to eradicate tuberculosis by 2030”.
“Today, the Nigerian Governor’s Forum joins the rest of the world in commemorating World Tuberculosis Day,” he said.
The celebration, he said, provided an opportunity for the entire world to raise public awareness about tuberculosis’ devastating health, social, and economic consequences.
He added that It also enables them to renew their commitment to accelerate efforts to eradicate tuberculosis in Nigeria at the national, state, local government, and community levels.
