Minister Restates Commitment To Tuberculosis, Leprosy Eradication

The Federal Government is committed to the eradication of tuberculosis in Nigeria, the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, said.

Chukwu made the pledged in Uyo on Monday at the opening of the 2011 Annual Review Meeting of National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme, adding that the government had taken measures toward attaining the goal.

“This administration has demonstrated concrete commitment to halting and reversing the ugly tuberculosis situation,’’ the minister, who was represented by the Director of Public Health, Dr Mansur Kabir, said.

He said the government would embark on a holistic transformation and strengthening of the health sector with the aim of making Nigeria healthy in line with the Vision 2020/20 agenda.

Chukwu said that toward the attainment of the national goal, the government had provided diagnostic facilities and second line drugs for the treatment under the Multi Drug Therapy (MDT-TB) approach.

The minister also said the government had increased the budgetary allocation for the control of communicable diseases.

He said the ministry with support from Global Fund had equipped six zonal reference laboratories to strengthen access to the diagnosis of drugs resistant to tuberculosis.

“I am happy to announce that my ministry through the National Leprosy Control Programme in Nigeria has achieved at the National level the World Health Organisation (WHO) elimination target for leprosy which prevalence rate is less than 1 per 100,000 since 1998.

“With the introduction of  MDT in 1989, the number of registered leprosy cases in the country rapidly declined from 200,000 cases in 1989 to 3,913 at the end of 2010, “he stated.

He said the government would not relent in its efforts to control leprosy and would address the existing challenges of stigma and rehabilitation of those with disability among the patients.

Gov. Godswill Akpabio, who was represented by his deputy, Mr Nsima Ekere, said that the state had made giant strides in its control programme, from 83 TB treatment centres in 2007 to 121 TB treatment centres in 2011.

Akpabio added that there has been an increase in TB diagnostic centres from 18 in 2007 to 37 currently.

He said that the government of Akwa Ibom offered free health services to TB patients and people living with HIV and AIDS as part of its effort to eradicate the diseases.

The governor urged the delegates to exchange ideas that would bring about a solution to the occurrence of the disease.

The delegates were drawn from the 36 states and FCT.