Tuberculosis
By Benson Ezugwu
Calabar, March 26, 2018 (NAN) Prof. Angela Oyo-Ita, the Deputy Director of Cochrane Nigeria, an international organisation, has urged Federal Government to increase funds to institutions and individuals involved in Tuberculosis research to end the high burden of the disease in the country.
Oyo-Ita made the call on Monday at a media roundtable organised by Cochrane in commemoration of 2018 World Tuberculosis Day in Calabar.
Cochran is an international not-for-profit and independent organisation dedicated to making up-to-date, accurate information about the effects of healthcare readily available worldwide.
Founded in 1993 and named after the British epidemiologist, Archie Cochrane, the organisation produces and disseminates systematic reviews of healthcare interventions and promotes the search for evidence in the form of clinical trials and other studies of interventions.
According to Oyo-Ita, Nigeria is ranked sixth out of seven TB high burden countries in the world, saying concerted efforts must be made to tackle the menace.
She said “in Nigeria, the burden of TB is high and we are working toward reducing it by 95 per cent in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“Government support in the area of funding research-based institutions is highly needed.
“Government at all levels must be proactive so we can reduce the high burden of TB cases in Nigeria.”
The deputy director added that Cochrane, in collaboration with Institute for Tropical Disease Research and Prevention, University of Calabar (UNCAL) were working with research evidence to curtail the spread of TB cases in Nigeria.
Dr Obaji Akpet, a Consultant Physician in UNCAL stressed the need for increased sensitisation on TB cases, adding that early detection was the way out.
“Religious leaders, community leaders, traditional rulers, among others, should sensitise the people on dangers of TB to curb its continued spread.
“Everybody must be involved in the effort at ending the TB menace in our society,’’ he said.
Joshua Nwankon, a Consultant Family Physician, urged those suffering from the disease not to abandon their treatment half way to avoid re-occurrence.
According to him, the World Health Organisation estimates that in the last one year, over 10 million people fell ill from TB and two million died of it in 2016. (NAN)
BEN/AAB/HA
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Edited By Adeboye Ajayi/Hadiza Mohammed-Aliyu