BREAKING: Nigeria Needs $400m to End Tuberculosis Epidemic by 2035, Expert Warns
With the high disease burden of tuberculosis, Nigeria will require about $400 million to successfully prosecute the campaign to end new infections by 2035, a public health practitioner has said.
Public health expert, Dr. Hananiya Samuel, made the disclosure while presenting a paper by National Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Buruli Ulcer Control Programme (NTBLCP) at a symposium to commemorate the 2025 World Tuberculosis Day.
Samuel said what was presently being committed to addressing the tuberculosis scourge was less than 30 per cent
He said, “TB remains one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide, with Nigeria ranking among the top 30 high-burden countries globally.
“For the country to be able to meet targets of drastically reducing the disease burden by 2035, we will need over $400 million.”
Another public health expert and an Early Carrier Researcher at Light Consortium, Zankli Research Centre, Dr. Chukwuebuka Ugwu, suggested the adoption of integrated healthcare services that will subject patients to holistic screening for diseases.
The symposium was organised by Zankli Research Centre, in collaboration with The Light Consortium, to commemorate World TB Day.
The event focused on raising awareness about tuberculosis, its global effect, and the collective efforts needed to combat the public health challenge.
It also brought together researchers, healthcare professionals, students, and stakeholders to discuss innovative solutions and strategies to end TB.
The experts said the country’s large population and inadequate healthcare infrastructure were exacerbating the spread of the disease.
Samuel said Nigeria’s high TB burden was also due to the country’s failure to prioritise TB control efforts.
“We need to scale up our efforts to detect and treat TB cases, especially in rural areas where access to healthcare is limited,” he said.
Ugwu, while speaking to journalists, stressed the importance of an integrated approach to tuberculosis (TB) response, stating that it saves money and resources.
According to Ugwu, an integrated approach to healthcare means that when a patient visits a health facility, they receive comprehensive care that addresses all their health needs, not just the primary disease.
He explained that the approach checked for infectious and non-infectious diseases, as well as psychological wellness.
Ugwu stated, “Integrated health care services is so important. It means that when somebody comes to the health facility, we are not only treating a primary disease. You’re treating the whole individual.
“You’re checking if he has an infectious disease. You’re checking if the person has a non-infectious disease. You’re checking everything, even psychological wellness of the person.
“Is this person depressed? Is this person’s mental health okay? Where does this person live? All these things are components of integrated care. It means that when somebody comes to a hospital, they get all the needs met. So that they don’t have to keep coming over and over and over again.
“In some situations, somebody comes for malaria on Monday. On Tuesday, he comes for headache. On Thursday, he comes for ulcer.
“The patient will spend their whole money on transport. So I think we must encourage health care workers, disease control programmes, policy makers to always practise integration.”
Earlier, in his welcome address, Research Uptake Manager at the Light Consortium, Toyosi Adekeye, raised concerns that tuberculosis, commonly referred to as TB, had been a longstanding health issue in Africa.
Adekeye, an Associate Professor in the Department of Community Medicine and Primary Health Care at Bingham University, Zankli Research Centre, Karu, Nasarawa State, stated that in the past, tuberculosis was often misdiagnosed as a mere coughing disease, leading to countless deaths due to lack of proper treatment.
