The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Wednesday that Nigeria ranks first in Africa on Tuberculosis infection.
The damning verdict was given by Representative of WHO in Africa, Tereza Kasaeva, when a delegation of the United Nations Programming Mission paid a visit to the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan.
”Nigeria ranks number one with the highest cases of tuberculosis infection within the African region, and among top ten countries globally”, Kasaeva said.
She added that the infectious disease is responsible for over 1.5 million deaths annually, going by available statistics.
She, therefore, called on the federal government to make additional investments in primary healthcare services through urgent interventions by the National Assembly.
“Additional investments in Tuberculosis and non-communicable diseases will be needed from the domestic source, and we quite clearly understand the challenges in the country, the budget will never be enough for the health sector and its always some sort of struggle,” she explained.
In his own remarks, the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, appealed to the United Nations and WHO to lend their support to the Nigerian government towards ensuring the eradication of tuberculosis in the country.
