AHF decries lost of lives to TB in Nigeria

….. task citizens to get tested for TB and HIV.

From Attah Ede Makurdi

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) Nigeria, has said it will honour millions of lives lost to the dreaded disease called tuberculosis as the World marked this year’s Tuberculosis (TB) Day.

AHF Nigeria insisted that tuberculosis remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases that is the leading cause of death for people living with HIV, and vowed to partner other stakeholders to raise awareness in order to end tuberculosis in the country.

The foundation Advocacy and Marketing Manager in Nigeria, Steve Aborisade, said the organisation is in partnership with other stakeholders, particularly the TB programs in their state of operation which includes; Abuja-FCT, Benue, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Cross River, Kogi and Nasarawa states to create awareness about the treatment of TB.

He disclosed that global efforts to combat TB have saved an estimated 75 million lives since 2000, stressing that World TB Day is recognized annually on March 24.

Steve Aborisade, in statement issued and made available to newsmen in Makurdi, maintained that across these states, they will be honouring the millions of lives lost to TB while urging leaders at all levels of government to prioritize TB prevention and treatment efforts.

“Through this effort, all the TB Directly Observed Therapy (DOT) centers across AHF Nigeria states of operations shall be popularized so that people can be aware of where to seek help for TB treatment and be knowledgeable about identifying cases and referring them to care and treatment.

“It is important for stakeholders to create greater awareness about TB and ensure that people get tested for TB and HIV.

“TB is treatable while the treatment is quite accessible and free across Nigeria. It is in this regard that AHF Nigeria is happy to contribute to the existing efforts of the Nigerian TB program through awareness creation and driving greater community involvement and participation through the strategic engagement of community-based organizations (CBOs) and their civil society (CSOs) counterparts”, said Echey Ijezie, AHF Nigeria Country Program Director”.

According to him, the World Health Organization revealed that TB had claimed 1.3 million lives in 2022, including 167,000 people living with HIV, with an estimated nearly 11 million people falling ill to TB worldwide.

He added that Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) remains a public health crisis and a health security threat, yet only about 2 in 5 people with MDR-TB accessed treatment in 2022.

“AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is a global non-profit organization providing cutting-edge medicine and advocacy to over 1.9 million people in 46 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region, and Europe.

“We are currently the largest non-profit provider of HIV/AIDS medical care in the world”, the Advocacy & Marketing Manager, AHF Nigeria stated.