The chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Control, Hon. Amobi Ogah has said that the House is set to bolster its advocacy for more government interventions in the area of allocating and releasing resources to combat tuberculosis (TB) while reducing reliance on foreign grants and donations.
Ogah said that it has become imperative for the Nigerian government to spearhead the battle against TB by allocating the funds required to drive the initiative aimed at eradicating TB by 2030.
The lawmaker stressed the urgency of the situation, citing Nigeria’s position as the leading country in Africa and sixth globally in terms of TB cases, comprising approximately 4.6 percent of the global TB burden.
He expressed concern that the alarming statistics could be attributed to the fact that out of the $38m needed to combat TB in Nigeria, only 24% was sourced from international funding while a mere 6% came from domestic sources, resulting in a funding gap of 70%.
The lawmaker spoke in Abuja on Monday while kicking off the 2024 World TB Day Road Walk organized by the National Coordinator of the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme (NTBLCP) and other partners as part of the activities marking 2024 Word TB Day.
Noting the worrisome state of TB in Nigeria, he said: “It is imperative that the Nigerian Government assumes a leadership role in combating TB by allocating the essential funds required to facilitate the initiative aimed at eradicating TB by 2030.
“As parliamentarians, we have taken up this challenge and we will strengthen advocacy for more government interventions in the area of allocation and release of resources to fight TB and less dependency on foreign grants and donations”.
However, the lawmaker noted that the responsibility should not rest on the government’s shoulders alone, saying, “To this end government, private sector and Civil Society Organizations and the general public must close ranks and collaborate for the mutual goal of ending TB in Nigeria.
“As a country, we must also deliberately invest in building capacity of Health workers. We need to put in place systems to ensure early detection and management of TB, and procurement of equipment like Gene Pert Machines to facilitate easy diagnosis at all Local Governments across the country.
“We must also invest in research and development, as well as data gathering as we can no longer rely on obsolete data in making informed decisions on programs for ending TB.
“As parliamentarians, part of our message to Nigerians on this year’s World TB Day is for everyone to stop stigmatizing and discriminating against people affected by TB.
“As parliamentarians, we will continue to play our role to protect and promote the rights of people affected by TB by putting in place better laws and policies to support those affected by TB and their families.
“We will also oversight to ensure that people who violate the rights of people affected by this disease are held accountable.”
While he reaffirmed the commitment of the House of Representatives to the global Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) to end TB by 2030 with a pledge to continue to play its part, Ogah implored the stakeholders to view lawmakers as partners in the fight against TB.
He said: “As Representatives of the people, we will always advocate that policy and program design should pass through us, to own such programs and convince our people to buy into them.
“On this note, we encourage TB stakeholders to design programs that we can own and take to our Constituencies to form part of our constituency projects.”
According to him, the theme for the year, ‘Yes We Can End TB’, can only be realized through the collective efforts of state actors, key stakeholders, and the general public uniting to form a strong coalition to confront and ultimately eradicate this public health threat posed by the disease.
The road walk took the participants from Garki Ultramodern Market through Ahmadu Bello Way to Old Garki Market and back to Garki Ultramodern Market.
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