Wife of the Lagos State Governor, Dr Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, has reiterated the commitment of the state government to end preventable deaths arising from tuberculosis.
Sanwo-Olu made the pledge on Wednesday during an Awareness Walk and Engagement Meeting in commemoration of 2021 World Tuberculosis Day in Lagos.
World Tuberculosis (TB) Day is celebrated annually on March 24, to raise public awareness about the devastating health, social and economic consequences of TB, and to step up efforts to end the global TB epidemic.
The theme for the 2021 celebration is “The Clock is Ticking.”
Sanwo-Olu noted that the state government was determined, now more than ever, to change the narrative of high TB prevalence and its unenviable position as the state with the highest TB burden.
She said that the state government through had expanded the TB Directly Observed Treatment Short Course (DOTS) Centres from 1,047 in 2018 to 1,257 in 2020, as part of its efforts to offer treatment to TB patients.
Sanwo-Olu said that the state with support from Global Fund had also conducted trainings for community care workers to provide quality TB care, procured and deployed 18 X-ray machines to health facilities in the state.
She added that the state also provided 31 GeneXpert sites in 20 local government areas of the state.
“We recently launched three Mobile X-ray vans to increase active case search in the state, which hitherto will improve diagnosis, treatment and overall increase in TB case finding,” she said.
According to her, evidence abound globally that there are successes in TB prevention and control, saying that increased awareness, diagnosis, treatment and care of TB cases will help achieve the goal of TB eradication.
“It is germane to state here once again, that TB is preventable, curable, and the treatment is free.
“It has become pertinent to increase general awareness, ensure effective service delivery, including diagnosis, treatment, and care by improving access to TB diagnosis and treatment services,” Sanwo-Olu said.
Sanwo-Olu who is also the State TB Ambassador, said that the 2021 World TB celebration theme was apt, stressing that it reminded everyone that the world was running out of time to act on the commitments made by global leaders to end TB.
“This running out of time is also influenced by the impact of COVID-19 pandemic and it is necessary we scale up access to prevention and care of TB,” she said.
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Sanwo-Olu commended stakeholders in the fight against TB, adding that control of TB prevalence must be a global agenda in which everyone must be committed in the fight to end the disease.
Earlier, the State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, commended the governor’s wife for taking the lead in expanding the awareness of Tuberculosis in the state.
Abayomi said that tuberculosis was a silent killer and must be prioritised as a public health strategy.
He noted that 28,000 people globally get tuberculosis daily, out of which 4,000 people lose their lives on a daily basis.
“In Nigeria, just half a million people are diagnosed annually and it is saddening to know that Nigeria ranks sixth in the world among countries contributing to global TB burden and is now number one in Africa with expected diagnosis of 440,000 TB patients in a year.
“TB awareness is therefore crucial as the disease is a significant cause of ill health and death in Lagos State.
“As a government, we are committed and we will go to any length to address the challenge of under diagnosis of TB in Lagos State,” he said.
Abayomi disclosed that the state was actively managing TB across the 27 General Hospitals, over 300 primary health care facilities and numerous private sector facilities which add up to about 1,200 health facilities. (NAN)