Health experts canvass increased resources to fight TB, prevent over 4,100 deaths daily

In the course of the week, this year’s World Tuberculosis (TB) Day was observed to create public awareness about the epidemic.

With the theme, “Invest to End TB. Save Lives,’ stakeholders in the health sector called for increased financial investment and other investments such as hard work from frontline workers, political will from policymakers, private sector investment and support from the general public in order to end the TB epidemic.

Specifically, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) urged governments worldwide to increase resources to prevent and treat more than 4,100 people losing their lives every day to the disease.

AHF Nigeria Country Director, Dr. Echey Ijezie, who made in Abuja in commemoration of World TB Day, regretted that nearly 28,000 more people have contracted the virus.

“On this World TB Day, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), in addition to urging governments worldwide to increase resources to fight the deadly disease, encourages people everywhere to “invest in health and get tested for HIV & TB,” Ijezie said.

Along with being one of the world’s most deadly infectious diseases, the AHF director explained that TB is one of the leading causes of death among people living with HIV, which is why it’s so vital that global leaders and individuals alike boost investments to fight TB.

According to him, increasing resources and actions to battle TB is also especially critical amid another ongoing global health crisis in COVID-19.

Ijezie said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has rightfully captured the world’s attention over the last two-plus years, but tuberculosis remains a significant threat to people in all countries. It’s even more dangerous for people living with HIV since they’re 18 times more likely to develop active TB disease than people without HIV.

“With our World TB Day 2022 theme, ‘Invest in Health: Get tested for HIV & TB,’ we want to send the message loud and clear that the world must do more to preserve the precious gains we’ve made in recent years fighting TB – and make a much-needed push to end this preventable and treatable disease.

“Tuberculosis is a serious health threat, especially for people living with HIV. People living with HIV are more likely than others to become sick with TB. It is for this reason that AHF Nigeria is doing all it can to create more awareness and educate the people about how they can protect themselves and care for those with TB because TB is curable.”

A medical doctor and health promotion specialist, Dr. Obinna Ebirim had said in 2018 at the United Nations High-Level Meeting (UNHLM) that world leaders, including Nigerian leaders, committed, among others, to mobilising sufficient and sustainable financing from all sources for universal access to quality prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care of TB. With the aim of increasing overall global investments to end TB, at least $13 billion was targeted to be mobilised by 2022.