Our ultimate goal is to end TB in Nigeria-Aisha Buhari

By Hassan Zaggi

The Wife of the Presi­dent, Aisha Muham­madu Buhari, has reiterated that Nigeria is committed to ending Tuber­culosis (TB) in the country in the very near future.

She stated this at a meet­ing with Joint United Na­tions Mission to Nigeria on TB, at the Presidential Villa, recently.

She, however, noted that despite the efforts of the fed­eral government, much still need to be done to achieve zero TB level in the country.

According to her: “To­wards the end of last year, I conducted an investiture for the wives of governors in Nigeria, appointing them as TB Champions. Because TB programmes and services in Nigeria are decenrtralised to states and local governments levels.

“The appointment of the wives of governors as TB champions is a game chang­er as it will help to cascade information and support for TB to the lowest level, espe­cially, the much needed sup­port of the state governors.

“We have been doing so much, but we can do better, our ultimate goal is to end TB in Nigeria.”

While soliciting for the support of the United Na­tions delegation to end the TB scourge in Nigeria, she said: “I also want to solic­it for more of your support. As you know ending TB in a country as big as Nigeria is a huge task and we need mul­tisectoral and multi lateral support for us to achieve it

“So, I look forward to your recommendations and I promise to advocate for the implementation of any ac­tion that is agreed upon. “

Speaking, the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, noted that the meeting is an important step in prioritizing non communicable diseases for urgent action.

“The delegation is here from different agencies of the United Nations to draw attention to the diseases and to stimulate us and get us thinking on what to do.

“Some of these diseases are genetic and cant be helped like sickle cell while some are self inflicted like alcohol and Tobacco excesses which create problems not only for the consumer but also for the environment. But never the less, they all constitute a bur­den to the health system.

“It is wise for us to handle them at the early stage and wiser too, to prevent them.”