New Telegraph

2.4m Nigerians Suffer TB, Lagos Accounts For 32,000 Cases

…as Sanwo-Olu’s wife inaugurates local champions for prevention

In an effort to eradicate tuber- culosis (TB) in Lagos State, wife of the Lagos State Gover- nor, Dr Claudiana Ibijoke San- wo-Olu has highlighted alarming statistics indicating that approximately 2.4 million Nigerians are affected by the illness, with Lagos alone accounting for about 32,000 cases.

Sanwo-Olu who officially inaugurated the Local Government and Local Council Development Areas (LGA/LCDA) TB Champions and Ambassadors, as well as Lagos State TB Steering Committee, and Lagos STOP TB Partnership at a high-profile event yesterday, also called for immediate preventive action on TB from the newly invested female local government leaders and spouses of their male counterparts. The investiture event held at the First Lady’s Banquet Hall, Lagos House.

The ceremony, which witnessed the investiture of female chairmen and the wives of Local Government Area (LGA) and Local Council Development Area (LCDA) chairmen as TB champions and ambassadors at their locality, inauguration of critical state actors as TB Steering Committee to oversee the implementation of policies and mobilisation of resources to support TB control programmes in Lagos and launch Stop TB Partnership, Lagos to foster collaboration be- tween government agencies, nongovernmental organisations, and community leaders, creating a stronger response to TB, marked a pivotal step in the state’s commitment to eradicating TB.

In her address at the event, the First Lady emphasised the importance of collaboration and community leadership in the fight against TB, urging the newly appointed TB champions to focus on raising awareness, improving access to diagnosis and treatment, and dismantling the stigma surrounding the disease.

She emphasised the critical need for proactive mea- sures to combat tuberculosis (TB) in the region. Sanwo-Olu also pointed out the significant role women play in advocacy and community health, stating, “Women are very power- ful. The men are the heads, but the women are the neck.”

She encour- aged the female chairpersons to leverage their influence and mobilise resources to raise awareness about TB prevention and treatment. Encouraging creative approaches to advocacy, she suggested us- ing cost-effective methods such as community drawings, social media campaigns, and grassroots efforts to disseminate information.

“Prevention is better than cure,” she reiterated, reminding the audience that both TB screening and treatment are free for those in need. Dr. Sanwo-Olu further emphasised the need for collaboration across sectors, urging the champions to network and form platforms to share ideas and best practices. “Within 48 hours of your investiture, start taking action.

You have a responsibility to your community,” she said. She also highlighted the critical role that the STOP TB Partnership and TB Steering Committee would play in mobilizing resources and fostering collaborations across government, civil society, and com- munity platforms. In closing, the First Lady called for collaboration among community leaders, health officials, and philanthropists to tackle the TB crisis effectively.

She urged the newly appointed champions to set clear targets and work diligently within their communities to ensure a healthier Lagos State. Speaking in the same vein, the Lagos Commissioner for Health, Professor Abayomi disclosed that approximately 32,000 individuals in Lagos are currently living with undiagnosed TB, with only 515 cases identified so far this year.

He urged the audience to recognise the severity of the situation, noting, “That means there are 15,000 people in Lagos right now walk- ing around and living with TB that have not been diagnosed.” He em- phasised the infectious nature of TB, warning that each untreated individual could infect up to 15 others annually, leading to a potential epidemic

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