The Health and Social Welfare Coordinating Minister, Prof Muhammad Pate, announced that a national survey on Tuberculosis resistant to drugs will be carried out this year in Nigeria to determine the actual burden of drug-resistant TB.
Pate stated that the survey will help in guiding targeted actions to tackle the drug-resistant TB epidemic in the country.
Pate made this statement on Thursday in Abuja during the inauguration of the First Lady, Senator Remi Tinubu, as the global and national Stop TB champion by the Global Stop TB Partnership, and
The First Ladies from the 36 states were also conferred Stop TB champions in their respective states.
TB is a disease caused by a bacterium (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) that often affects the lungs, according to the World Health Organisation.
The disease spreads through the air when individuals with lung TB cough, sneeze, or spit, and a person only needs to inhale a few germs to become infected.
Nigeria is ranked sixth and the top country with a high burden of TB in the world and Africa, respectively.
An estimated 479,000 individuals in Nigeria contracted the disease in 2022, averaging one person developing TB every minute in the country.
An estimated 97,900 TB deaths occurred in Nigeria in 2022, equivalent to one person dying from TB every five minutes, even though the disease is curable and preventable.
Drug-resistant TB is caused by TB bacteria that are resistant to at least one first-line anti-TB drug.
Pate pointed out that at the start of this government and in line with the Federal Government’s renewed hope agenda, the ministry launched Nigeria’s Health Sector Renewal Programme, based on a four-point agenda aimed at revolutionising Nigeria’s health sector.
He mentioned that the agenda will enhance governance and population health outcomes, unlock the healthcare value chain, and provide health security for all Nigerians.
The minister mentioned that the government is equipping the Primary Health Care facilities with essential facilities and personnel to deliver comprehensive services, especially in rural and underserved areas, to improve health outcomes and reduce the burden of preventable diseases such as TB.
“Our efforts to end the TB epidemic in Nigeria led to the expansion of TB treatment services (DOTs centres) to about 22,000 health facilities and GeneXpert equipment – a quick molecular test for TB – to 512 by the end of 2023.
“We are increasing the use of digital X-ray with artificial intelligence for TB screening among key and vulnerable populations (including children) as we currently have 51 mobile digital X-ray platforms nationwide within the program, and an additional 350 digital X-ray machines will be available by the end of June 2024.
“As part of our diagnostic optimization plan, we have also established a strong specimen referral network using a hub-and-spoke model that was responsible for transporting over 2.4 million samples in 2023 for TB tests.”
He indicated that the government is also adopting the all-of-society approach through collaborations with the private sector and the community in the fight to end TB in Nigeria.
The Public-Private Mix DOTs plan has been developed for involving the private sector. At the end of 2023, 3,733 private facilities were involved in providing TB treatment services.
We are also encouraging community ownership of the TB intervention using Community-Based Organisations and Community Volunteers to find TB cases in the community. The PPM-DOTs and Community interventions made up about 30 per cent and 43 per cent of our TB notifications in 2023, respectively.
This year, with the help of USAID and partners, a National Drug-Resistant Survey will be conducted to determine the actual burden of drug-resistant TB, guiding targeted actions in addressing the epidemic of drug-resistant TB in Nigeria.
In collaboration with partners, our commitment and drive to end TB in Nigeria led to a record TB case notification in 2023, with over 360,000 TB cases notified. This is the first time in over 35 years of TB control efforts that we crossed the 300,000 mark in TB notifications. About 98 per cent of the TB patients in 2023 had documented HIV status.
However, over 140,000 TB cases were not diagnosed and treated in 2023.
This emphasizes the need for continued and intensified efforts to find the missing TB cases and address other challenges such as low childhood TB & DR-TB notification, limited access to diagnostic tools, low awareness about TB in the community, and sub-optimal coverage of health facilities and communities with TB services.
Furthermore, addressing the social determinants of TB, such as poverty, inequality, and limited access to healthcare, remains one of the major prongs in our efforts to end TB in Nigeria.
Under my watch, the Federal Ministry of Health is establishing an efficient, resilient, equitable, affordable, and quality health system to improve health outcomes for all diseases, including TB, HIV, and Malaria, by delivering preventive, promotive, and curative services at primary healthcare facilities and in all hospitals. The training of health workforce has begun in phases.
We have initiated the process to implement a unified electronic health information system to ensure reliable data for decision-making and are finalizing processes to put in place an innovative system that will ensure sustainable domestic financing and strengthen health sector governance.
Most importantly, we are swiftly forming smart partnerships with national and international partners to promote domestic manufacturing of pharmaceutical and other health products, critical for meeting our goals to save lives and reduce the physical and financial pains faced by Nigerians.
At the event, Abdul Samad Rabiu Africa initiative, ATM Shafa Holdings, Dr Lucica Ditiu, Chief Austin Obiefuna, Dr Gidado Mustapha, and Dr Chukwuna Anyaike were honored for their contributions to the fight against TB.
