Aisha Buhari urges Stakeholders on elimination of Tuberculosis

First Lady of Nigeria,  Mrs Aisha Buhari has urged stakeholders to work together to eliminate Tuberculosis in Nigeria. She made the call at the National TB Conference 2021 in Abuja. She said that despite TB being curable, some Nigerians still die from the disease.

Aisha also noted that with the help of governor’s wives, more awareness are being created on TB, particularly in the rural areas.

“These strategies are very important because we need to maintain a strong focus and attention towards fighting TB, the most infectious killer disease in the world”.  She said.

She particularly commended health workers for always responding to TB cases while giving kudos to ministry of health for stepping up response to TB.

She added that through the anti stigma programme more people are coming forward to report TB cases and access treatments, which will boost response.

The Nigerian minister of health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, said that TB is one of the older infectious diseases that the world including Nigeria have resolved to eliminate.

The minister said that it was expected that at the end of the three-day conference, enough evidence would have been gathered and new knowledge generated to help the Global TB control efforts reverse the negative impact of other diseases on TB control efforts.

The Acting Board Chairman, Stop TB Partnership Nigeria, Dr. Ayodele Awe, said that the National TB Conference 2021, aims to galvanise action towards ending TB in Nigeria and across the world.

He said that participants at the three day conference would deliberate on the way forward for TB elimination.

The World Health Organization’s Country, KNCV TB Foundation Nigeria, NCDC, the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme and other TB partners in Nigeria reaffirmed their commitment to ending TB in Nigeria.