Despite the serious public health risks associated with tuberculosis (TB), more than 80% of Nigerians are still ignorant about the disease’s symptoms, which seriously impedes attempts to manage it. At the IMPAACT4TB Phase 2 Project event, which was organised by the AURUM Institute and UNITAID, Dr. Olusola Sokoya, the Coordinator of the Lagos State TB, Leprosy, and Buruli Ulcer Control Programme, revealed the startling statistics.
She said that while TB treatment and diagnosis were free, more than 18,000 people in Lagos received a TB diagnosis in 2023 alone. With the theme of “Strengthening Media Partnership and Collaboration for TB Control in Lagos State,” Sokoya gave the keynote lecture at the three-day media workshop.
She bemoaned the fact that only thirty percent of Nigerians are aware of the symptoms and signs of tuberculosis.
He conveyed his profound concern on the poor awareness, noting that while tuberculosis (TB) remains a common health problem, only 27% of the population is able to recognise its symptoms, making it incredibly challenging to stop the disease’s spread.
Sokoya cited the 2022 Global TB Report, which showed that Nigeria was one of the five nations that accounted for more than 50% of the 2.9 million TB cases that were missed worldwide.
According to him, Nigeria has the highest rate of tuberculosis prevalence in Africa and the world, with 11% of cases going undiagnosed. According to Dr. Sokoya, “at least 80–90% of the population must be educated on its symptoms in order to successfully combat TB.”
“However, Nigeria is lagging far behind in efforts to contain this disease, with current awareness levels sitting at just 27%.” The three-day event’s goal was to strengthen media cooperation in order to raise public awareness and equip Nigerians with the skills necessary to identify and prevent tuberculosis. Sokoya underlined that the goal of eradicating tuberculosis in Nigeria would remain elusive in the absence of significant advances in public awareness.
Even though poverty, overcrowding, and inadequate nutrition are conducive to the growth of tuberculosis (TB), anyone can contract the disease regardless of their socioeconomic background, especially if they have intimate contact with an infected person. Sokoya pushed for increased funding for educational initiatives that reach all societal groups.
Nigeria is increasing its diagnostic capacity in addition to raising awareness with the launch of the GNS5 machine, a state-of-the-art instrument that employs gene analysis to identify tuberculosis.
At 32 locations around the nation, 38 GNS5 equipment are currently in use, improving the country’s capacity to identify the illness. Sokoya, who added that treatment was free, discussed the TB situation in Lagos, estimating that the incidence rate is 219/100,000 people while the prevalence rate is 332/100,000 people. He claimed that out of a total of 31, 459 (50,00018541) cases, 18.541 cases were found in 2023 and 65 percent of those cases were missing.
The incident brought to light the critical need for more intensive public awareness initiatives, since Lagos and Kano continue to have the largest numbers of tuberculosis cases. He called on media professionals to be essential in educating the public and halting the national spread of tuberculosis.
