Authors: Andrew Oguntolu and Oluwatoyosi Adekeye
From 3-7 December 2023, stakeholders from Nigeria’s National Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Buruli Ulcer Control Programme (NTBLCP) held their annual review meeting in Lagos, where they assessed progress, discussed challenges, and mapped out a way forward in tackling these three infectious diseases across the nation. The LIGHT Consortium’s team, including Dr. Toyosi Adekeye, Dr. Ebuka Ugwu and Mr. Andrew Oguntolu, joined the meeting and participated in the discussions.
Reflecting on Progress, Challenges and Setting Future Goals
Dr. Chukwuma Anyaike, the Director of Public Health at Federal Ministry of Health emphasised the significance of reflecting on Nigeria’s progress towards eliminating Tuberculosis, Buruli Ulcer and Leprosy. He highlighted the need to align national efforts with the global push towards universal health coverage through integrating various programmatic activities and policy changes that ensure inclusivity in healthcare delivery.
Participants acknowledged the impact of TB case detection on the progress made in Nigeria, pointing out an upward trend in identified cases, with figures increasing from 24% in 2019 to a remarkable 60% by 2022, despite setbacks from the COVID-19 pandemic. Nigeria reported a surge in identified tuberculosis cases, reaching over 285,000 towards the end of 2022. This progress is attributed to innovative approaches, collaborative efforts, and support from governmental and international organisations like USAID, the Global Fund, as well as from civil societies.
Despite Nigeria's status as the country with the highest TB burden in Africa and ranking sixth globally, collective efforts are being made to transform this narrative- including conducting comprehensive national and subnational prevalence surveys to better understand and address the varying burdens and disparities in TB prevalence across states. The meeting highlighted government’s initiatives, led by the newly appointed Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Ali Pate, to address some critical challenges in human resources by strengthening the capacity of frontline workers and revitalising primary healthcare systems to enhance healthcare delivery nationwide.
Raising Public Awareness on TB
Stakeholders highlighted the importance of improving public awareness on tuberculosis, emphasising the role of the media in disseminating information about symptoms of TB- such as chronic cough, weight loss, night sweats, among others- and the significant impact of socioeconomic factors such as poverty on the spread of TB.
Celebrating Achievements
The LIGHT Consortium at the Zankli Research Centre hosted a stakeholders’ dinner for over 200 partners from federal, state and non-government sectors. The event highlighted the relevance of improving gender-responsive TB care and services in Nigeria and globally. The dinner was an opportunity for the LIGHT Consortium team at ZRC to showcase some key findings from their various research studies- including those from the Political Economic Analysis, preliminary findings from the Photovoice study and the DESTINE project, and discussions from recent presentations at the Union Conference.
The event concluded by celebrating the outstanding efforts of TB State managers, presenting the “Best State Manager” award to Dr. Tambuwa Bello, the TB State Manager of Sokoto, as a recognition for his exemplary service. Nigeria continues to make substantial progress in the TB response through collaborative efforts, implementing innovative approaches and incorporating evidence-informed policies and guidelines. LIGHT Consortium's collaborative efforts along other partners are driving Nigeria towards the goal of ending TB.