Nigeria News

Nigeria commemorated the 2009 World Stop TB Day on Tuesday 24th March 2009, The slogan ‘I am stopping TB’ was adopted as the national theme for this year’s celebration. At a press conference to mark the occasion, the Honourable Minister of Health Professor Babatunde Osotimehin, said that TB is still a major public health problem in Nigeria, with the country ranking 5th among the 22 high TB burden countries which collectively bear 80% of the global burden of TB.

7 August 2009 | ABUJA -- In a ceremony held on August 7, 2009, Dr Peter Eriki, the WHO representative in Nigeria, formally handed over a consignment of anti-TB drugs to the Hon. Minister of Health, Prof Babatunde Osotimehin. The drugs, a donation to Nigeria from the Global Drug Facility (GDF) worth $ 1,75 million dollars, will cover the treatment of over 30,000 TB patients, including children.

Abuja: August 30 2010: The Minister of Health, Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu said yesterday that he was pleased that Nigeria was being consulted by WHO as part of the development of its Global Health Sector Strategy for HIV/AIDS 2011-2015. Represented by Dr Balami, National Coordinator of the HIV/AIDS division, Federal Ministry of Health, welcomed the opportunity to ensure that national priorities as outlined in the NSHDP and the National Strategic Framework would be taken in to consideration.

Theme, ‘’TB, TB/HIV and other lung diseases: challenges to the attainment of MDGs in Africa’’

The 18th African Union conference of the international union against tuberculosis and lung disease (IUATLD) was held from 3-5th March, 2011 in Abuja Nigeria. This biennial conference brings together stakeholders on TB and Lungs Diseases and provides ample opportunity for interaction and sharing of information and best practices for the control of these diseases

24th March 2011 -- At the 2011 World TB Day celebration event, The World Health Organization in Nigeria donated Digital X-ray machines procured with support of the Global Fund (GFATM), Lab equipments and reagents procured with support of USAID to the Federal Ministry of Health.

The donated items worth over $520,000 include:

Abuja, 7 April 2011 -- The Hon Minister for Health, Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu has urged Nigerians to heed the warnings from the public health community about actions that contribute to antibiotic resistance. ‘The time to act is now to ensure a healthier and better tomorrow’, said the Minister, explaining that ‘the germs that cause disease develop a defense against our drugs because of the way we have been using them.’ This will render many of our drugs ineffective, for example those used against malaria and tuberculosis.

The reappointed Honourable Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu has applauded the World Health Organisation for its technical contribution towards uplifting the health standards of Nigerians especially at community levels.

The Minister who paid a courtesy visit recently to the WHO Nigeria at the United Nations House, Abuja said that Nigeria’s achievement in both national and international fora would not have been possible without the technical support of WHO Nigeria.

In a ceremony that took place at the Federal Ministry of Health in Abuja on 15th July 2011, the acting WHO Representative in Nigeria, Dr. David Okello, handed over a Toyota Hilux pick-up 4-WD vehicle to the Honourable Minister of Health, Professor C.O. Chukwu, ably represented by Dr. Mansur Kabir, Head of Public Health Department at the Federal Ministry of Health, to boost Guinea worm disease (GWD) surveillance activities in Nigeria. Dr.

The Kwara state government and the World Health Organisation in Nigeria are set to work together towards reducing child and maternal mortality rate.

This consensus was reached at a recent meeting between Her Excellency, Mrs. Omolewa Ahmed, the First Lady of Kwara state and the Representative of the World Health Organisation in Nigeria, Dr. David Okello at the United Nations House, Abuja.

In December, 2010, WHO announced the official endorsement of the new Xpert molecular technology.

Xpert MTB/RIF has been described by many as a revolutionary breakthrough in the fight against TB. Xpert MTB/RIF detects M. tuberculosis as well as Rifampicin-conferring resistant mutations and provides results within 100 minutes. It is an automated cartridge-based Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) for TB based on the GeneXpert multi-disease platform.