Nigeria Is Not On Tract To End TB, There’s 60% Increase In Cases In 2021-WHO

World Health Organization, WHO, has disclosed that the Federal government of Nigeria is not doing enough to end tuberculosis in the country in line with meeting the 2030 deadline.

 

Newsonline reports that WHO regretted that in 2021, there was 60% increase in reported cases, just as it laments unreported cases.

 

The world health body said if Nigeria must achieve the world free from Tuberculosis, it must implement data-driven based evidence-based and technology-enhanced interventions as contained in the NSP/lesson learnt.

 

WHO Professional Officer on Tuberculosis in Nigeria, Dr Amos Awoniyi, made the assertions at an interactive webinar session with the media on ‘the Journey to End TB in Nigeria.

 

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The WHO Professional Officer on Tuberculosis said, “We are not on the right track to achieve the 2030 target due to the high number of missing TB cases, there are a lot of cases in the community that are not detected, our case increase in 2021 was 60 percent and this is not good enough. ”

 

”To end TB in Nigeria, we must implement data-driven evidence-based and technology-enhanced interventions as contained in the NSP/lesson learnt. Mobilize adequate domestic resources and 70 per cent of the TB budget in 2021 was not funded”.

 

Also speaking on Nigeria’s backwardness in the fight to end TB in 2030, in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, Suvanand Sahu, the Deputy Executive Director of the Stop TB Partnership, said the country can move back on track by implementing WHO recommendation in data collection and financing.

 

Suvanand Sahu said, “the total amount of funding needed is the equivalent of US$4 per year by everyone in the world for the next eight years.

 

“The economic return on this investment would amount to US$40 for every US$1 invested and as much as US$59 for every US$1 invested in low- and middle-income countries if the status quo is maintained.”