Bauchi State detects and treats over four thousand TB patients last year.
By Abubakar Baba Ahmad
Bauchi State Government says it has detected and treated 4430 Tuberculosis cases in 2020.
The State Commissioner of Health Dr Aliyu Muhammad Maigoro stated this at a Press Briefing in commemoration of the 2021 World Tuberculosis Day at BACATMA.
This is part of events lined up for the day in Collaboration with USAID Breakthrough Action Nigeria BA-N, KNCV, Netherlands Leprosy Relief NLR, WHO, Chemonics among others.
Dr Aliyu Maigoro said out of the four thousand and eighty two new cases detected in 2019, ninety three percent were successfully treated.
“The other promise is to reach at least 30 million people with tuberculosis preventable treatment by the year 2022 and also to mobilise sufficient fund and sustainable financing to reach at least a minimum of thirteen billion US dollars yearly in other to support effort to end tuberculosis” he said.
He said though Nigeria ranks third among countries with high burden and prevalence of TB, Bauchi has lower cases of the disease among states of the federation.
According to him, the effort of the Present administration in combating the disease is evident in the number of treatment centers and latest machines for diagnosing different forms of TB bacteria.
“There are currently 570 free TB treatment centers, 127 TB diagnostic centres and 12 GeneXpert machines which is the latest machine for diagnosing both drug resistant tuberculosis and drug resistant strain of the bacteria” he disclosed.
The State Commissioner of Health called on stakeholders to identify and implement innovative strategies aimed at increasing awareness and active TB case search.
Also Speaking, the Chairman State Agency for the Contol of HIV-AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria BACATMA Dr Sani Muhammad Dambam said COVID 19 posed serious challenge to the State in the fight against Tuberculosis as the number of people coming out for testing reduced due to fear of being certified positive for Corona.
Dr Muhammad Dambam who gave a toll free number of 3340 for reporting TB cases, noted that tuberculosis is more dangerous than COVID 19.
Meanwhile, activities line up for this year’s world TB day include series of TV and radio talk shows, free testing for TB, AIDS and Malaria, community outreach in Bauchi and Misau LGAs as well as inaugural campaign and rally by wife of the state Governor on the twenty nineth of this month at Bayara and Bauchi metropolis respectively.
The theme for this year’s celebration is “the clock is ticking” and the National Slogan in Nigeria is “that cough fit be TB not COVID, check am ooo”.
