The Federal Government yesterday kicked off its community tuberculosis (TB) screening across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), beginning with the Gishiri community in Abuja.
National Coordinator of the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme (NTBLCP) of the Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Chukwuma Anyaike, said the initiative is geared towards finding the missing TB cases (over 300,000 cases) in communities across the country, educate Nigerians on best prevention practices, and raise awareness on the signs and symptoms of TB, and how to get help.
Anyaike said: “We are here to tell the community that TB is a very big problem and it is killing people; it is not a respecter of persons or status. And because it is in the air, it is more dangerous. We usually have such gatherings every March 24, but we decided not to wait till 2023 to bring interventions.
“If you are coughing for more than two weeks, you can call 3340 to be attended to. It is not only for coughing, but if you feel sick, you should visit the hospital for a proper check. With the support of communities, we can kick out TB from the country because it is a healthy community that can prosper.
“We don’t want people to die from TB because it has a cure and can be prevented. Funding for this intervention comes from partners like the USAID, Stop TB Partnership, WHO, IHVN and other partners.
“The community must work hand-in-hand to ensure that persons who test positive for TB take their medications so they don’t infect others. Also, anybody who has received treatment should not be discriminated against.”
Chief of the Gishiri Community, Bala Akusu, said: “We are very happy with this programme as this intervention will reduce the disease burden of TB in our community. Also, our Primary Health Centre is working very well.”