NIGERIAN Thoracic Society (NTS) has called for more funding if the war against tuberculosis (TB) must be won, especially in the wake of COVID-19.
The society lamented that COVID-19 had shifted focus from TB control, thus reversing the progress achieved.
A statement by its President Prof. Prince Ele and Secretary-General Dr. Abiona Odeyemi, to mark the 2022 World Tuberculosis Day, said the global refugee problems occasioned by conflicts in Eastern Europe and elsewhere, might also aggravate the situation.
World TB Day is celebrated every March 24; this year’s theme is ‘Invest to end TB: Save lives’.
The statement reads: “TB remains the world’s deadliest infectious killer, with about 430,000 cases and 162,000 deaths yearly in Nigeria. This year’s theme is a call on governments and stakeholders to invest in finance, hard work, determination and energy to achieve the goal of saving lives.
“To accelerate the TB response in countries, world leaders made commitments to end TB at the first United Nations high level meeting in September 2018. Unfortunately, global efforts to end the menace have been significantly hampered by COVID-19.“As at February, 416 million cases of COVID-19 and 5.8 million deaths were reported to World Health Organisation (WHO). This condition caused global loss of momentum and focus on TB control, with attendant reversal of a decade of progress achieved. Without question, the global refugee problems occasioned by conflicts in Eastern Europe and elsewhere will also aggravate the situation.
‘’This year’s theme is a message and plea to world leaders to ramp up investment in TB control to save lives.
“While the society appreciates efforts by the government to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on Nigerians, we would like to remind them that TB is still the No. 1 infectious killer disease, made worse by prevalence of Multidrug Resistant TB (MDRTB). Thus, it should continue to receive attention.”
To mark the World TB Day in Nigeria, there would be symposia and awareness campaigns in selected hospitals, the statement added.