
Dr Osagie Ehanire,the Minister of Health, has hinted that there is an alarming increase in Tuberculosis (TB) cases in Nigeria,saying every hour 18 Nigerians died of the disease.
He said that , 120,266 cases of TB was detected in 2019 , because of the 13 per cent increment on TB cases from 2018.
He spoke at 2021 World TB Day Ministerial Press briefing with the launching of the Unified TB Campaign in Abuja with the theme for this year World TB Day 2021,
The Minister, who was represented by his deputy, Dr Olorunnibe Mamora ,said one challenges confronting Nigeria is low notification about TB cases, saying, only about 25% of Nigerians have good knowledge about Tuberculosis.
He said:“The Clock is Ticking”, saying, all these challenges called for concerted efforts of all stakeholders to end the TB, pandemic in Nigeria. “We must double our TB effort to be able to end TB in Nigeria. It is imperative to find all TB cases in Nigeria. And to be able to do this, all hands must be on desk”.
Earlier, in his address of welcome, the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Olorunnibe Mamora lamented that over 3,000 new cases of TB are missing in Nigeria every year.