The Association for Reproductive and Family Health (ARFH) participated actively to commemorate World Tuberculosis Day, which is held on 24th March every year worldwide to raise awareness about Tuberculosis.
The theme of the 2017 World TB Day Commemoration is: “Unite to End TB”, while the #WTBD2017 slogan in Nigeria is: “Accelerating Tuberculosis Case Finding and Treatment in Nigeria”.
This theme is in line with ARFH’s Active Case Finding (ACF) programme of the Global Fund Tuberculosis grant.
To commemorate #WorldTBday in Nigeria, the National Tuberculosis, Buruli-ulcer and Leprosy Control Programme (NTBLCP) in collaboration with ARFH, CDC, CDC America, CHAI,CDC, CDC America, CHAI, Challenge TB, Clinton Foundation, FHI360, HIFASS, IHVN, KNCV, Stop TB Partnership, TBNetwork, TLMN, USAID, WHO Challenge TB, Clinton Foundation, FHI360, HIFASS, IHVN, KNCV, Stop TB Partnership, TB Network, TLMN, USAID, WHOCDC, CDC America, CHAI, Challenge TB, Clinton Foundation, FHI360, HIFASS, IHVN, KNCV, Stop TB Partnership, TBNetwork, TLMN, USAID, WHO and many other partners organized a series of awareness creation activities.
To announce the activities to be held in commemoration of the World Tuberculosis Day, the WTBD Planning Committee held a press conference in collaboration with the NTBLCP and Stop TB Partnership group
On Monday, 20th March, 2017, the NTBLCP and partners in the fight against Tuberculosis in Nigeria visited the New Kuchigoro Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camp in Abuja to present them with relief materials and to conduct Tuberculosis tests.
On Wednesday, 22nd March, a consensus building meeting to engage organizations (non TB partners) in the fight against TB in Nigeria.
There was also a road walk to raise awareness about Tuberculosis in Abuja, as well as many other awareness creation events all over the country.
On World TB Day (Friday 24th March), a ministerial press conference was held in Kuchigoro Primary Healthcare Centre, Abuja where the Honourable Minister for Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, addressed the press to increase awareness towards intensifying the fight against TB in Nigeria.
The Honourable Minister also launched a GeneXpert Tuberculosis diagnosis machine installed at the Kuchigoro PHC. The GeneXpert machine is the latest technology for #Tuberculosis diagnosis which takes only 2 hours to produce a result.
Professor Adewole said: “From only 7 GeneXpert machines for Tuberculosis detection three years ago, there is now 318 in Nigeria and we are working hard to make sure there’s one GeneXpert machine in every LGA in Nigeria”.
He also said that there is no need for anyone to die of Tuberculosis since it’s curable and TB treatment is free in Nigeria.
The Coordinator of the Global Fund TB Project of ARFH, Dr Queen Ogbuji said that ARFH will step up efforts in the Active Case Finding house to house search for TB in order to find the missing cases towards accelerating TB case finding and treatment in Nigeria.
