ENDING TB SCOURGE IN NIGERIA

The authorities should do more to contain the disease

The World TB Day 2026 held on Tuesday with the theme, ‘Yes! We can end TB!’ While some critical stakeholders marked the day by reminding Nigerians of the disease burden, health authorities did not show sufficient concern about Tuberculosis, better known by its acronym TB, even when it still constitutes a major health problem in the country. Indeed, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has consistently ranked Nigeria among countries with one of the highest prevalence of TB in the world. What the theme for this year says most poignantly is that with sufficient commitment by critical stakeholders, decisive leadership from health authorities, and increased domestic and international investment, ending TB is achievable.

Tuberculosis is perhaps the single leading cause of death from any single infectious agent. It is caused by a bacterium which most commonly affects the lungs and transmitted from person to person through air droplets. TB affects all species of vertebrates and though control measures had reportedly limited the spread through animals, they (particularly cattle) still constitute a significant source of risk in countries like Nigeria where meat and milk inspection by health officials are often overlooked. Statistics from the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme (NTBLCP) has always been chilling.

 Data from the World Health Organisation (WHO) reveals that TB-related deaths reduced in Nigeria by about 63 per cent between 2015 and 2024 but the infection rates have not declined significantly, indicating ongoing transmission within communities. With an estimated 510,000 new cases in 2024, Nigeria ranks first in Africa and sixth worldwide, accounting for about 4.6 per cent of global TB cases. Nigeria also accounts for 23 per cent of TB deaths in Africa, while undetected TB carriers in the country are capable of infecting between 12 per cent and 15 per cent of the population annually. The situation is compounded by funding gap. Only about 27 per cent of the estimated $405 million required for TB control programmes in 2024 was funded, leaving a shortfall of roughly 73 per cent. On Tuesday, the Network Head, Anglo-West Africa, Roche Diagnostics, Roberto Taboada, urged the federal government to increase funding for TB response in the country by placing stronger emphasis on cost-effective, scalable solutions aligned with national priorities.

Globally, some 13 per cent of TB patients are also afflicted with HIV and said to be the leading cause of death among people living with HIV. But tuberculosis is a curable disease. That, of course, depends on early detection and correct diagnosis aided with proper treatment. The challenge in Nigeria is that patients afflicted with TB do not complete the therapy and even worse, many do not make themselves available for treatment. Indeed, failure to complete the treatment and the mismanagement of drugs account for the death of many patients and the increase in variants of the disease that are drug resistant in the country. Nigeria has the second highest multi-drug resistance tuberculosis (MDR-TB) burden in Africa and the 13th highest in the world.
 The world health body is particularly worried because a substantial number of the people infected in Nigeria are unreported or undiagnosed. By WHO statistics, no fewer than 15 per cent of the three million people undiagnosed for TB around the world are in Nigeria, most of them women and children in slum neighbourhoods where poor ventilation and squalor abet the spread of the disease. To end the TB scourge, there is an urgent need for the federal government to support the local manufacturing of TB drugs, and there must be enlightenment campaign on preventive measures. Health authorities like National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) must also work to halt the proliferation of fake and adulterated drugs that compound the problem of TB in the country.