Wife of the President, Oluremi Tinubu, has called for renewed national commitment and collective action to eliminate tuberculosis (TB), describing the disease as a preventable and treatable condition that still poses a significant public health challenge.
Also, the North-West Zonal Coordinator for Nigeria’s TB programme, Isiah Danssaallah, expressed concern that the country’s TB response was entering a decisive and defining moment.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that Niger State may face a serious TB crisis by June if the state government does not provide urgent funding and supplies.
However, the Global Fund has called on the Federal Government to ensure uninterrupted funding for TB; otherwise, the country risks a reversal of the progress made in the fight against the infectious disease.
It also promised the country 179,700 doses of Lenacapavir by 2028.
In a message to mark the 2026 World Tuberculosis Day, observed yearly on March 24, the First Lady said the theme, ‘Yes! We Can End TB’, underscores the need for strong leadership, sustained political will, and active community participation in tackling the epidemic.”
Accordingo her, while Nigeria has made measurable progress in reducing new TB cases, the burden of the disease remains high, affecting thousands of families across the country.
Ending TB, she added, requires intensified efforts in key areas, including increased domestic funding, expanded public awareness, improved early detection and wider access to quality treatment services.
The First Lady also stressed the importance of addressing stigma and discrimination associated with the disease, which continues to discourage many people from seeking timely diagnosis and care.
“TB remains a preventable and curable disease, yet it continues to impact countless lives. We must strengthen our response by investing more resources, supporting our health workers and empowering communities with accurate information,” she said.
She commended the commitment of healthcare professionals, development partners, and TB survivors, who continue to play critical roles in the national response, and urged all stakeholders to sustain the momentum.
World Tuberculosis Day is commemorated globally to raise awareness about the devastating health, social, and economic consequences of TB and to step up efforts to end the epidemic.
Speaking in Kaduna, yesterday, Danssaallah said: “While we acknowledge the Federal Government for sustaining policy direction, coordination and an enabling environment for TB control, the most urgent challenge before us today is no longer policy but resources.”
He lamented that the TB response in Nigeria was underfunded, noting that over 70 per cent of the national TB funding gap remains. With heavy reliance on external donors, the system is increasingly fragile as global support declines.
The coordinator explained: “Policy shifts that began during the administration of Donald Trump triggered reductions in global health financing, and the ripple effects continue to affect countries like Nigeria. This means one thing: Nigeria must now take full financial responsibility for its TB response urgently.”
He called on state governments to take responsibility for procuring TB medicines and laboratory commodities, including first-line and second-line TB drugs, GeneXpert cartridges and other diagnostic consumables, microscopy and laboratory reagents, as well as logistics and supply chain support, saying that “no TB programme can function without these essentials.”
DURING a press briefing in Minna to mark the 2026 World Tuberculosis Day, WHO National Professional Officer for TB in the North Central Zone, Dr Hananiya Dauda, said only eight percent of the expected 18 percent funding has been accessed.
Dauda cautioned that failure to release funds could lead to a major gap in TB testing and treatment across the state.
He stated: “By June, we may not have commodities in the state, if they fail to provide funds for drugs and testing,” adding that the situation could affect TB control efforts.
Earlier, the Niger State Commissioner for Health, Dr Murtala Bagana, identified declining international donor funding since 2025 as a major challenge towards the goal of eliminating TB globally by 2030.
Bagana, who was represented by the ministry’s permanent secretary, Dr Abdullahi Usman, assured the state government of the ministry’s commitment to strengthening its TB and Leprosy Control Programme to achieve elimination targets.
He disclosed that as of 2025, the state recorded 127,410 presumptive TB cases, of which 126,228 were tested and 14,908 confirmed.
According to him, 8,629 patients have been successfully treated with diagnostic tools such as GeneXpert, Truenat, T-LAMP, and PDX machines.
The Director of Public Health, Dr Ibrahim Idris, said that while the state had adequate clinical personnel, low uptake of BCG vaccination among newborns could lead to future TB cases if left unaddressed.
He stressed the need to strengthen immunisation coverage to prevent a resurgence of the disease in the coming years.
GLOBAL Fund noted that with sustained investment, strengthening of the healthcare system, and continued innovation, Nigeria can end TB as a public health concern.
GF Team Lead in Nigeria, Jean-Thomas Nouboussi, at the official launch Lenacapavir (LEN) PrEP for HIV prevention, and unveiling of the Multisectoral Accountability Framework for TB (MAF-TB) application in Abuja, noted that Nigeria achieved very impressive results in the fight against TB, stressing that treatment coverage increased from 100,000 cases in 2019 to 458 cases in 2025.
Nouboussi observed that the treatment coverage reached 90 per cent with the majority of TB cases successfully treated, describing it as one of the highest-performingprogrammes supported by GF.
