Abuja, 28 May 2016 - The United Nations (UN) Special Envoy for Tuberculosis, Dr Eric Goosby has completed a working visit to Nigeria, and delivered a keynote address to stimulate private sector partnership during a 2-day National Tuberculosis Conference organised by the Nigeria Stop TB partnership with the theme, ‘Hidden Face of Tuberculosis’ from 16-19 May, 2016.  The wife of the Vice President, Mrs Dolapo Oshibajo and the Honourable Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole graced the occasion.

“Nigeria has Africa’s highest burden of TB and lowest case detection rate of 15%”, Dr Goosby highlighted and therefore observed that government alone cannot change the negative picture.

To drive home the significance of his recommendation, Dr Goosby held in-depth discussions with the Minister of Health, during which he emphasised the need for strengthening the engagement of the private sector to deepen TB services availability to the sizable proportion of the population who primarily access their health services through the private sector. He further called for urgent efforts to clear the multi-drug resistant TB treatment waiting list, noting that this was immediately possible with the available resources, including possible reprogramming of the existing Global Fund grant where necessary. He also underscored the need to expand TB services availability through the government’s primary health care revitalization initiative.

Dr Goosby also met the chairpersons of health committees in the Senate and House of Representatives as well as the Commissioners of Health from six states and development partners during which he pressed for increased government resource allocation to TB control, especially procurement of first line and second line anti-TB drugs from the GDF. The Senate and House of Representatives chairpersons assured Dr Goosby of the Federal Government’s intention to increase health sector funding in the 2017 budget and to focus on priority health conditions including TB as well as on strengthening legislation on open market of anti-TB drugs.

To garner more support, the UN envoy paid an advocacy visit to Her Excellency the wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Buhari during which he congratulated her for accepting to be a ‘TB Champion’ and requested that she uses her privileged position to mobilize all the governors wives in order to step-up TB awareness among the general public as well as  mobilize resources for TB control.

In her remarks, the wife of the President confirmed her acceptance to be a TB Champion owing to her “interest and commitment towards improving the health of the Nigerian children and women”. Additionally, Mrs Buhari pledged to include TB as a key component within her project the ‘Future Assured Initiative’ for uplifting maternal and child health.

Dr Eric Goosby was accompanied on the visit by the Executive Director of the Stop TB Partnership, Dr Lucica Ditiu, Executive Chairman of KNCV, Dr Marteen Van Cleef, Nigeria STOP TB Partnership Chairperson, Professor Lovett Lawson and the WHO Representative to Nigeria, Dr Rui Vaz.

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For more information, please contact:

Dr  Rex Mpazanje
Tel: +234 803 960 0874
Email: mpazanjer [at] who.inttarget="_blank"
 

Dr Ayodele Awe
Tel: + 234  803 525 0215
Email: awea [at] who.int
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Below:

01. Dr Goosby (1st left) Mrs Oshibajo (middle) and Dr Vaz (1st right) at the opening ceremony of the TB conference

02. Dr Goosby(2nd left) with parliamentarians and Dr Vaz  (2nd right)