Kazeem Biriowo – Abuja
The National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Program (NTBLCP) of the Federal Ministry of Health has warned Nigerians that TB is an infectious disease and that it is not caused by witchcraft.
This was revealed by NTBLCP National Coordinator Dr Chukwuma Anyaike at a World TB Day 2023 press conference organized by the Nigeria Stop TB Partnership in partnership with NTBLCP.
The theme for WTBD 2023 is ‘Yes! We can end TB in Nigeria with the slogan ‘Get Involved’.
An Aike explained that tuberculosis is not caused by witchcraft, but an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which cannot be transmitted by shaking hands or hugging.
“The bacteria are suspended in the air and you can inhale it. What happens after that depends on your body’s immune system.”
Anyaike further insisted that awareness needs to be raised in Nigeria as he said the country, which ranks first in Africa, remains sixth globally.
“We need awareness and I am challenging our colleagues from a media perspective to help us, you are doing a great job, at least until 25% of Nigerians don’t know much about TB and the burden in Nigeria, but we still have a lot of questions .
“As the first principle of primary prevention, awareness raising comes in and we need to speak up, it shouldn’t just be an annual event. We should let people know as much as possible, people have heard of TB and I hope we extend that to TB”. He said.
An Eike said that in the struggle, Nigeria has repeatedly performed well. “If you look at where we start by the end of 2022, we’ve been able to notify over 285,000 missing cases in Nigeria, 60% missing cases is a huge milestone, but we’re not there yet, so we’re able to , and everyone’s enthusiasm for making it happen.
“I remember we were here at this time last year. So at that time last year, it was not 60 years old, so we should also celebrate that we didn’t get to this point,” he added.
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