By Daniel Tyokua
The mandate secretary for Health and Environmental Services Secretariat ,FCTA, Dr Adedolapo Fasawe has said the financial support provided by the wife of the president, Remi Tinubu will help in tackling Tuberculosis cases across the six Area Councils.
She stated this while fielding questions from journalists after the unveiling of the new 10 TB molecular diagnostic machines in Abuja on Thursday.
Fasawe said the machines have over 95 % predictive positivity with chest X-rays, mobile, that doesn’t need light but are solar powered.
The mandate secretary explained that at least more than 100 people catch tuberculosis in the country, saying it is preventable and treatable.
She described the first lady as a champion for many health courses, saying the statistics revealed that every day at least seven people die from tuberculousis.
Fasawe said, “Every day, at least more than 100 people are catching tuberculosis in Nigeria. This is not right because tuberculosis is preventable, is treatable, and we can end tuberculosis. So what she has done today is, what she started doing since the first World Tuberculosis Day.
“She has supported us with a lot of money, precisely billions of naira to ensure that we are able to make quick diagnosis and also to find the handshake between the primary health care centers, the secondary health care centers, and the tertiary centers in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Health and other funding partners. Due to what she has done, more attention is being paid on tuberculosis now.
“And I’m very happy to say with the machines we were able to procure, you don’t have to go to a secondary health center to get tested for tuberculosis.
“They don’t have to take your blood. It’s very easy. It’s safe. It’s effective. These machines have over 95% predictive positivity. And we have chest X-rays, mobile, that don’t need light. These machines are solar-powered”.
