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WHO Seeks More Financial, Technical Support To End TB By 2030
The World Health Organisation (WHO), has called for continued financial and technical support from its international partners to enable the organisation end the Tuberculosis (TB) epidemic by 2030.
The WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti in her message to mark the 2019 “World Tuberculosis Day” said that with increased global attention on the disease in recent years, the burden was falling in all WHO regions.
She said that this development was however, not fast enough to reach the first milestone of the End TB Strategy in 2020.
Moeti said that to achieve the 2030 goal of ending TB therefore, current levels of investment by national governments must be increased as they fall short of levels required to end the epidemic.
“TB is at long last gaining a higher profile on the global political agenda, this should create more momentum to reach the targets we have set for 2020 and beyond.
“we look to our international partners for continued technical and financial support in the fight against TB and related conditions.
“As Regional Director of WHO in Africa, I re-affirm the commitment of my office and that of all my technical staff across the region to work with governments, other partners and communities to support the actions towards ending the TB epidemic by 2030, if not earlier.
“The 2018 WHO Global Report indicates that the disease burden caused by TB is falling globally in all WHO regions and in most countries but not fast enough to reach the first milestones of the End TB Strategy in 2020.
“In the WHO African Region, declining cases of TB which is four per cent yearly placed it second among all WHO regions over the period between 2013 and 2017.
“Also, particularly impressive reductions of four to eight per cent yearly have occurred in southern Africa like Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe, following a peak in the HIV epidemic and the expansion of TB and HIV prevention and care.
“To sustain these advances, current levels of investment by national governments towards TB care and prevention must be increased as they currently fall far short of levels required to end the epidemic by the end date of the Sustainable Development Goals.
“Likewise, efforts must be made to identify and remove the challenges that are slowing down progress as well as adopt and roll out the most cost-effective policy options and interventions,”.
Moeti advised that core TB control services be funded from domestic resources and Universal Health Coverage introduced to ensure quality assured preventative, diagnostic, treatment and care services.
She also urged political leaders and governments to adopt policy and programmatic actions to foster a multisectoral response to end the epidemic.
According to the regional director, this should include initiatives to look for and effectively treat all existing cases, scale up preventive treatment for high-risk populations especially people living with HIV and child contacts of known TB cases.
She said that to end the epidemic by 2030, there was also the need to ensure universal access to the WHO recommended rapid molecular tests as first-line tests for diagnosis for all presumptive TB cases.
She said that it was important also to adopt the new WHO recommended drugs and drug combinations for treating drug-resistant TB.
“Civil society organisations and community systems need to be strengthened as well to provide diagnostic support and care where patients live and work as well as facilitate access to needed services and assist governments in scaling up services.
“In my message on World TB Day last year, I called on governments and civil society leaders at all levels to take leadership in combating the TB epidemic in our region.
“Following the high-level gathering of world leaders, policy-makers and civil society organizations at the UN High-level meeting on TB in September 2018, all stakeholders are now aware that an urgent global response is needed to a global epidemic.
“In the African region, TB is a major challenge to development causing untold human suffering and threatens the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Moeti said that it was time to end the suffering and bring hope to TB patients and their families.
She said that the theme of the 2019 celebration of World TB Day is “It’s Time”.
The director said that it was an opportunity to reflect on the advances that have been made in recent years but also on what remains to be done to end the scourge of TB in the Region and around the world.
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
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RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.