Nigeria’s tuberculosis (TB) burden has reached a critical level, with around 500,000 new infections recorded each year, making it the country with the highest tuberculosis burden in Africa and the sixth highest globally.
The shocking figure, highlighted during the 66th National Council on Health (NCH) in Calabar, underlines the deepening gaps in detection, prevention and treatment, particularly among vulnerable children.
The World Tuberculosis Report 2024 also shows that tuberculosis continues to claim lives in Nigeria at a staggering rate, with one death every eight minutes, a figure experts consider unnecessary, preventable and urgent.
Children continue to be disproportionately affected. 57,000 children contract tuberculosis annually and, although 80,000 qualify for preventive treatment, only 10,522 receive it, leaving tens of thousands exposed to preventable illness and death.
At the Council meeting, experts described the situation as a national emergency requiring immediate political and financial commitment. They warned that sharp drops in funding from international donors threaten to further weaken the country’s response if state governments do not take urgent action.
Mayowa Joel, Executive Secretary of the Stop TB Partnership in Nigeria, highlighted that despite free diagnosis and treatment, preventable deaths persist due to lack of awareness, stigma and inadequate reach of services. He reminded Nigerians that “tuberculosis is an airborne infectious disease, not a spiritual attack.”
Ibrahim Tajudeen, Executive Secretary of the Global Fund’s National Coordinating Mechanism (CCM) dealing with HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, warned that donor contributions are declining and cannot sustain national tuberculosis control efforts.
He urged states to adopt innovative financial strategies, reduce out-of-pocket spending and maximize the 1% Consolidated Revenue Fund that currently supports more than 13,200 primary health care centers across the country.
Council leaders reaffirmed that Nigeria can still meet the UN’s 2030 goal of ending tuberculosis, but only if states massively increase funding, scale up preventive therapy, strengthen early detection and prioritize care at the community level.
With half a million new infections every year, experts say Nigeria is at a crucial crossroads: act now or risk a widening public health disaster.