Lagos State Government, StopTB Partnership Nigeria and other stakeholders on ending tuberculosis have said the state presently has the highest burden of tuberculosis (TB) in Nigeria.
They disclosed this at a Dinner Forum with Corporate Sector on Mobilising Domestic Resources to End TB in Nigeria,” in Lagos, on Sunday.
Chairman of the Nigerian Stop TB Partnership, Prof. Lovett Lawson, said: “Lagos has the highest burden of TB in Nigeria, while Nigeria has the sixth highest burden of TB in the world and the first in Africa.”
Lawson said the challenge of TB in Lagos is associated with large population and poor living conditions of those living in congregate settings with low awareness of TB and described TB as an airborne disease, which makes it infectious to all categories of people, irrespective of age, sex, ethnicity, class or religion, since we all breathe the same air.
“It is the leading cause of death in adults globally of all infectious diseases. The WHO estimates that no fewer than 1.6 billion people, about a third of the world’s population, are infected with TB.
“Of these, 9.6 million developed clinical TB in 2017 and the disease killed about 1.6 million people that year, compared to 1.2 million killed by HIV, 95 per cent of these occurring in the developing world with the majority in Sub Saharan Africa.
“However, of the estimated 9.6 million infected, only six million (63 per cent) were reported to WHO with a loss of about 37 per cent,” Lawson said.
He called for increased funding and commitment to reduce the scourge.
“We hope that at the end of this meeting, those of us here will be better enlightened and more committed to fight the war against TB. Governments of over 163 countries in 2015 promised to end TB by 2030. Unfortunately, at the current rate of TB decline, which is at 1.5 per cent, it will require a remarkable increase of over 10 per cent of funding by 2025 globally if we are to meet the target by 2030.
“TB can be eradicated with the required political will and adequate funding.
“The corporate sector- financial, manufacturing, telecommunications, oil and gas companies, have a critical role to play through their corporate social responsibility (CSR) to support efforts to end needless deaths from a curable disease affecting our dear county.”
“Private sector funding from these organisations will be needed to make up the deficit in funding,” Lawson said.