FCT To Provide Health Centre For TB, Leprosy Patients

Minister of  State for  Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mrs Olajumoke Akinjide, has assured residents of the territory that the FCT Administration would provide a  health centre to take care of persons infected with tuberculosis and leprosy.

Akinjide gave the assurance  in Abuja when members of the FCT Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme paid her an advocacy visit.

She said the public was not aware of the high prevalence of tuberculosis in the country, adding that it was regrettable to have Nigeria as one of the countries in Africa, with the greatest incidence of tuberculosis.

“The public does not know that we have high incidences of tuberculosis and leprosy. We do not know how to look out for it or what to do about it.

The minister said the FCT Administration would give members of the TB and leprosy control programme the necessary support to help reduce infection.

Akinjide said it was worrisome that the disease was common among the young and the economically-productive age bracket, adding that it could be easily contacted if not properly handled.

She said awareness was important in order to save more lives, and commended the programme control members for their efforts to curb the spread of tuberculosis.

Earlier,  the Secretary, Health and Human Services Secretariat, Dr Ademola Olufunmi who was represented by Dr Folashade Momoh, the Director, Public Health in the Secretariat, had said that tuberculosis was a major public health problem facing the society.

According to him, Nigeria is ranked 5th among the 22 countries with the highest burden in Africa.

Olufunmi described tuberculosis as the common cause of death among people living with HIV and AIDS.’’

He said the Directly Observed Treatment Short Course (DOTS) had been implemented in the 36 states of the federation and the FCT.

The secretary noted that DOTS was introduced in Nigeria in 1993 but started operation in the FCT in 2003.

He explained that the DOTS centres were meant to monitor infected tuberculosis cases, and that there were 39 facilities offering such services in the FCT.

The diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis in the FCT are free in all government hospitals and DOTS has 25 microscopic centres.

Olufunmi explained that tuberculosis notification cases had been on the increase from 204 in 2003 to 2,038 in 2011, since the inception of the programme in the FCT.

He, however, added that the programme was faced with the challenge of delayed release of funds and inadequate funding of tuberculosis activities.

Olufunmi also said that increased cases of drug resistance and inadequate staff for DOTS service delivery was another major challenge faced by the programme.

He said that of the 689 health facilities in the FCT, only 39 had DOTS centres, and they were concentrated in the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).

The secretary solicited for more DOTS centres for adequate coverage and enhanced service delivery.