Over 1,500 cases of tuberculosis cases have been discovered in Plateau State in the first quarter of 2024, the Programme Manager of Tuberculosis (TB), Leprosy and Buruli Ulcer Control Programme in Plateau State (PLSTBLCP), Dr. Maxwell Jublick disclosed.
Dr. Jublick lamented the low funding to tackle the menace of TB and called on the State government to do more in collaboration with other stakeholders to curb the menace.
Speaking during the technical dialogue sessions on tuberculosis funding, treatment, and control under the auspices of the USAID-sponsored Northern Nexus Cluster for the control of Tuberculosis in Northern Nigeria held in Jos; the expert noted that funding to mitigate the menace had been largely driven by development partners – USAID and Global Fund.
He added that the lack of funding line for TB control in Plateau State contributes to the surge in the incidence of the disease in the State.
The series of engagements on the disease aims to raise awareness, promote advocacy, and strengthen partnerships in the fight against TB. The event brought together stakeholders from the government, private sector, and civil society to discuss strategies for combating TB in Plateau State.
Speaking through Lenkat Mukan, Dr. Jublick highlighted the challenges among TB patients including the lack of training of Local Government TB and Leprosy Supervisors (LGTBLSs) at the Zaria training centre, inadequate weighing Scales, outreaches to slumps, schools, and correctional facilities, the lack of refresher training for personnel, the lack of funds to support quarterly State to local government area facility supervisory visits, among others.
He said, “Normally we start with screening the patients by the signs and symptoms of TB. Then if we take the samples to the lab, we don’t have all the equipment to diagnose TB. We are supposed to have it in every local government like the gene expert machine that diagnosed the TB. We need human resources too, which is very important. We need to build the capacity the human resources and training involves a lot of funds too…”
Executive Director of Kaneng Rwang Pam Foundation for Education and Migration Awareness, Kaneng Pam, said that the engagements aim to create awareness about TB and improve funding to tackle the disease.
She said that there’s a need for an increase in local funding, especially the payment of the counterpart funding, to bridge the gap as donors are already becoming fatigued.
She stated, “We are below 50% of our testing target for both adults and children due to inadequate funding, that is 0% funding from the government in the past seven years. We are losing more who do not return to take their medicine.
We are also losing more due to inadequate funds for contact tracing.
“We aim to bring everybody on board – government, public and private sector, faith-based and humanitarian organizations, and individuals – to contribute their little quota to the fight against TB. We have embarked on advocacy visits to government, MDAs, organizations, health institutions, private sector, and well-meaning individuals to sensitize them on the need to embark on aggressive measures to halt the spread of this menace.”
Executive Director of Eagle Lead Development Initiative (ELDI), Peter Ezekiel, said there is a need to increase Political and Administrative Commitment to encourage legislators to give TB control a priority in the state’s health agenda by guaranteeing TB programs receive steady funding and support.
