Abuja, March 26 2021 - “This Tuberculosis (TB) is curable, it goes away completely if you take your drugs constantly without skipping a day in the treatment you can be completely free” stated 38-year-old TB survivor Ekong Francis Ubong, a Political Science and International Relations graduate that resides in FCT, Abuja.

“On September 13, 2013, I fell sick thinking it was just malaria I rushed to the pharmacy and got medication but two weeks into that I still had a high fever and non-stop cough which went on for three more weeks. I was rushed to Asokoro general hospital in FCT, Abuja where a doctor recommended, I take a TB test and alas it came out positive. I was prescribed the usual six months medication and commenced treatment immediately” says Francis.

“With the support of the TB Nigeria team I was able to get medication for free and my mother made sure I never missed the medication for a day. I was certified TB-free after sixmonths” he affirmed.

Another survivor, 34  year old Mrs Perpetua Ukaegbu who sells food by the roadside in FCT advised that “when you find changes in your body, especially coughing for more than two weeks please go get tested for TB, the test and treatment are both free of charge”.

Perpetua and her husband fell ill in 2017 and were given free medical care and treatment at the Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH) in Kano, both were also cured after the six months of non-stop medication. 

Tuberculosis is one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide and the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent (ranking above HIV/AIDS). Globally, there are an estimated 10 million people with TB in 2019, with Nigeria and seven other countries accounting for two-thirds of the global total.  

In Nigeria, 18 people die daily from TB, 432 weekly, and 157 000 annually. Low TB case detection remains a major challenge in the TB control efforts in Nigeria with the country only detecting 27% of the estimated incident TB cases. The un-detected TB cases can further constitute a pool of reservoirs that fuel the on-going transmission of TB in the community, as one undetected infectious TB case can infect between 12 – 15 people per year.

“Based on available data, tackling TB is highly prioritized in Nigeria. In line with the government’s effort to ensure good health and well-being for all Nigerians as envisioned in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3, the Federal Ministry of Health, through the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme (NTBLCP) and with the support of partners, has initiated several interventions to tackle the disease” said Dr Adeleke Mamora, Minister of State for Health  during a Press briefing to commemorate 2021  World TB day in Abuaja.

World TB day is observed every March 24 to raise public awareness about the devastating health, social and economic consequences of TB, and to step up efforts to end the global TB epidemic. This year’s theme “The Clock is Ticking”, conveys the sense that the world is running out of time to act on the commitments to end TB made by global leaders. 

Also, while commemorating the day, the World Health Organization Nigeria (WHO) Country Representative Dr Walter Kazadi Mulombo reaffirmed WHO’s commitment to ending TB in the country and said, “ WHO will continue to support Nigeria in developing and implementing guidelines, plans, framework and strategic documents to end TB epidemic in Nigeria. Also, we will facilitate researche to provide evidence-based interventions and innovations for finding the missing TB cases and enhancing the country efforts in reaching the set targets.”

He further assured that the WHO is currently working with the programme in data analysis towards formulating evidence-based policies for enhancing program performance at all levels “we will continue to support this and also monitor programs in real-time, to identify challenges and advise on strategies to address the challenges.”

Technical Contact:
Dr JEAN BAPTISTE, Anne Eudes. Email: jeana [at] who.int; Tel: +234 813 173 6281