Tuberculosis epidemic takes over 4 LGAs in Kogi

Four Local Government Council Areas in Kogi State have been taken over by Tuberculosis epidemics, a non-governmental organisation, Initiative for Grassroot Advancement Commitment to Rural Development (INGRA) has said.

It said the affected four LGAs are ravaged with the dreaded disease with no or little attention.

The Executive Director, Mr. Hamza Aliyu made this known in Lokoja on Wednesday while marking World TB Day 2021 with the theme, ‘The Time is Ticking”.

According to Aliyu, the spike in the outbreak was reflected in data, which he explained was worrisome
given the prevalence of Multi-Drug Resistant TB (MDR-TB).

He identified the Local Governments to be Ankpa, Dekina, Olamaboro and Ofu in the eastern Senatorial district.

The Executive Director further stated that Nigeria has an estimated prevalence of 616 cases per 100,000 which ranks first in Africa, and fourth among the 22 high TB burden countries in the world, and no fewer than 460,000 cases of TB are reported annually in Nigeria

He decried the upsurge of Tuberculosis in Kogi despite that, almost 100% of the TB Programme in Kogi State is donor funded and this causes concern for sustainability going forward.

He recommended that there was need for improved budgetary allocation and actual fund releases to the State TB Programme as Counter Part funding has not been released in the past 3 years.

“Also the need for improved and effective behaviour change communication efforts to provide capacity to citizens to make the desired Sanitary behaviour

“Implementation of the New Direction Policy on Health which provides for reduction, elimation amd prevention of Public Health issues such as TB.”