By Iyemah David
No fewer than 50,000 Nigerians have tested positive for tuberculosis (TB), following the increased screening efforts nationwide, Global Fund said.
The Fund, however, said that many of those affected had yet to be placed on treatment, raising concerns about the country’s ability to contain the disease and prevent further transmission.
Executive Secretary of the Global Fund Country Coordination Mechanism (CCM), in Nigeria, Mr Ibrahim Tajudeen, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja.
He spoke at the 11th quarterly meeting of the Ministerial Oversight Committee (MOC) for the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF).
Mr Tajudeen said that the individuals were screened as part of the ongoing TB case-finding efforts supported by the government and donor partners.
However, he said that a critical funding gap was now threatening to reverse the progress made.
“We have successfully screened more than 50,000 people who are TB-positive, but we are unable to begin treatment for many due to limited resources,” he said.
According to him, the backlog is a result of constraints in the current funding cycle, which has seen reprioritisation of activities under the new Global Fund grant.
“The Country Coordinating Mechanism CCM is expected to confirm its alignment with the revised funding allocation by July 14, a deadline that may determine whether those affected could access life-saving treatment in time,” he said.
Mr Tajudeen said that TB, a preventable and curable disease, remained one of Nigeria’s leading infectious disease threats.
In addition to the TB crisis, he highlighted several ongoing health interventions.
“More than 25.5 million tuberculosis tests have been conducted using modern diagnostic platforms.
“A total of 370 digital X-ray machines have been procured, with some already delivered to various states.
“The upgrade of six regional reference laboratories is currently underway,” he said.
Furthermore, he said that to support malaria prevention efforts, 16.6 million insecticide-treated nets had been distributed across the country.
He disclosed that the government had received $95.5 million commitment from donors for the ongoing interventions.
The secretary, however, said that the shortfall from earlier budget projections had led to the shelving of several planned activities, including drug procurement, training and capital investments.
He, therefore, called on the MOC and partners to urgently intervene to prevent the situation from escalating.
“Screening alone is not enough; without treatment, we risk fuelling the very epidemic we seek to control,” Tajudeen said.
Global Fund supports Nigeria by funding programmes to fight HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, including providing medicines, diagnostic tools and mosquito nets.
It also strengthens health systems through training, digital health tools, lab infrastructure and community health workers’ support.
Its recent efforts include deploying digital X-ray machines, upgrading laboratories and expanding access to oxygen plants and solar power for health facilities.
The Global Fund works closely with governments and partners to improve health outcomes nationwide.
