Health

Tuberculosis: Nigeria’s Raging Silent Killer

Published

2 years ago

April 8, 2025

The Gleamer

…Kills 268 Nigerians daily About 40% of cases remain undetected

…Over 50% of Nigeria’s LGAs still lack GeneXpert machines

… US’s suspension of funding expected to increase problems

….As mortality rate remains high

In spite of concerted partnerships to stamp out tuberculosis (TB) in Nigeria, stakeholders are worried it still kills thousands in the country.According to the National Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Buruli Ulcer Control Programme (NTBLCP), the disease, discovered 143 years ago, claims 71,000 lives annually in Nigeria, accounting for 18 percent of TB-related deaths in Africa.Disturbingly, Nigeria has the highest tuberculosis burden in Africa.

“The disease kills 268 people in the country every day,” says the World Health Organization, WHO. “Yet TB cases are under-reported, increasing the high risk of transmission. It is estimated that one missed case can transmit TB to 15 people in a year.”

According to provisional data, over 361,000 TB cases were reported in Nigeria in 2023, nine per cent of these in children. Overall, this marked a 26 per cent increase in the number of cases compared with 2022.

”When the late Malam Ibrahim Yusuf, a 32-year-old mechanic in No Man’s Land, Fagge Local Government Area, Kano State, first developed a persistent cough, he dismissed it as a minor infection.

His wife, Mrs Safiya Ibrahim, recounted how his condition deteriorated over time. “By the time we finally visited the health facility, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) in its advanced stage.”Despite undergoing treatment, my husband died three months later, leaving behind me and our three children,” she narrated.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), TB is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis.It primarily affects the lungs but can spread to other organs such as the brain, spine and kidneys.

TB spreads through the air when an infected person coughs, sneezes, speaks or sings.Experts say there are two types of TB– Latent TB, where the bacteria remains inactive, causing no symptoms and making the person non-contagious, and Active TB – where the bacteria multiplies, leading to a persistent cough, weight loss, night sweats, fever and fatigue.

The latter is contagious and requires immediate treatment.Medical professionals say TB is curable with a six-month course of antibiotics, including drugs like isoniazid and rifampicin.They say the BCG vaccine offers partial protection, especially for children, while early diagnosis through tests like GeneXpert and sputum microscopy is crucial in preventing transmission.Despite medical advances, TB remains a major public health crisis in Nigeria.

Ibrahim’s story is just one among thousands in Nigeria, where TB remains a leading cause of death despite being preventable and curable.In 2023 alone, 499,000 Nigerians were diagnosed with TB—five people every minute.

However, only 60 percent of cases were detected, meaning hundreds of thousands remain undiagnosed, posing a risk of further transmission.Nigeria is also battling a rise in Multidrug-Resistant TB (MDR-TB) and Extensively Drug-Resistant TB (XDR-TB).MDR-TB occurs when TB bacteria become resistant to first-line drugs like isoniazid and rifampicin, making treatment longer, more expensive and less effective.

According to WHO, no fewer than 21,000 Nigerians develop MDR-TB each year, but only about 2,600 receive proper treatment due to funding shortages, limited diagnostic tools and inadequate second-line medications.

Dr Adesigbin Clement Olufemi, Head of the Programmatic Management of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (PMDT), NTBLCP, provided insights.”Many patients start treatment but struggle to complete the regimen due to side effects, stigma or financial hardship,” he said.According to Olufemi, without urgent intervention, MDR-TB will become even harder to control.

Dr Shehu Labaran, NTBLCP Director, explained that although more than 50 percent of Nigerian health facilities provided TB treatment, access remained a major challenge, especially in rural areas.”Only 48 percent of Local Government Areas (LGAs) have GeneXpert machines, the recommended rapid diagnostic tool for TB,” Labaran said.

By the aforementioned, 371 LGAs are left without advanced TB detection, leading to delays in diagnosis.Dr Patricia Chinedu, a pulmonologist, said that many patients sought treatment from traditional healers or chemists first, losing valuable time before receiving proper care.”By the time they reach a hospital, the disease has progressed to a life-threatening stage,” Chinedu warned.

Despite free TB treatment in Nigeria, the financial burden on patients is crippling.NTBLCP reports that 71 percent of TB-affected households face catastrophic costs, spending more than 20 percent of their income on transportation, nutrition, and other indirect expenses.For Mrs Maryam Usman, a resident of Karmajiji, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Federal Capital Territory (FCT), her husband’s TB diagnosis forced her to make heartbreaking sacrifices.

“I had to stop my children’s schooling because we could not afford transport to the facility where my husband is undergoing TB treatment,”Usman said.In many Nigerian communities, TB is still linked to curses, witchcraft or divine punishment.This stigma prevents people from seeking early treatment, increasing the risk of transmission.

“My family stopped visiting me when they heard I had TB,” recounted Mr Adamu Peter, a recovered TB patient from Waru community, FCT.Dr Queen Ogbuji-Ladipo, Acting Board Chair of Stop TB Partnership Nigeria, underscored that awareness campaigns like “Check Am O!”were helping, but more work was needed.

Ogbuji-Ladipo said that the global End TB Strategy aimed to reduce TB deaths by 90 percent by 2030, but Nigeria still faced major hurdles.The Nigerian Government, in collaboration with WHO, USAID and the Global Fund, had unveiled several initiatives.

These initiatives include free testing and treatment programs, active case-finding campaigns in high-burden areas, and mobile clinic pilot projects to improve rural healthcare access.However, a huge funding gap persists.)Mr Tajudeen Ibrahim, Executive Country Coordinating Mechanism, Global Fund, disclosed that Nigeria required 404 million dollars to effectively deliver TB treatment and services in 2025.

Ibrahim warned that the country’s TB drug supply for 2025 was already under strain, as some medications allocated for the year had been used to meet 2024’s treatment demands.He said the 5 million dollars funding gap caused by the U.S. Government’s recent executive order, affected active case-finding in 18 states between January and March.*Given that 24 percent of Nigeria’s TB funding comes from external sources, with the U.S. contributing 22 million dollars, there are concerns that detection and treatment efforts will suffer if funding issues persist,” he said.

Meanwhile, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, dismissed concerns from international agencies about possible drug shortages.

Pate stated that government analysis showed no imminent stockouts and stressed plans for direct and emergency procurement.

He also suggested that Nigeria might source medical supplies from economically similar countries instead of relying heavily on external donors.

Reaffirming the government’s steadfast commitment, Pate urged caution against misinformation from global organisations that might misrepresent Nigeria’s healthcare landscape.As Nigeria marks World TB Day 2025, Yusuf’s story serves as a stark reminder that TB is not a disease of the past—it is a present day crisis.

Note, NTBLCP says Nigerians can access information and resources by calling the toll-free helpline at 3340 or by dialing *3340#.

What’s more, stakeholders say that the government needs to increase funding, expand diagnostic tools, strengthen awareness, integrate TB services into primary healthcare, encourage early testing and fight TB-related stigma. They say there is need to scale up TB programmes and push for policy change as well as ensuring that patients complete their treatment regimens.

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Health

New Malaria Plan Puts States, Local Data At Centre Of Nigeria’s 2030 Response

Published

1 day ago

October 22, 2026

The Gleamer

Cyril Ogar

Nigeria’s latest malaria data point to a country making progress overall but facing sharply different disease burdens from one state to another, prompting health authorities to shift emphasis towards locally tailored interventions under a new five-year strategy.

The National Malaria Strategic Plan (NMSP) 2026–2030, launched alongside the 2025 Nigeria Malaria Indicator Survey (NMIS) report, seeks to cut malaria parasite prevalence and deaths by 50 per cent from 2025 levels by 2030.

Rather than applying a uniform national response, the plan prioritises interventions based on local epidemiological evidence, while also calling for stronger domestic financing, improved diagnosis and treatment, better surveillance and clearer accountability.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mrs Daju Kachallom, presented the government’s position at the joint launch in Abuja.

Pate described the survey and strategic plan as essential tools for identifying weaknesses in malaria control and directing resources towards areas with the greatest need.

He said the survey’s findings on prevalence, prevention, diagnosis and treatment would support policy development, programme implementation, resource allocation and performance assessment.

The minister said the strategic plan was designed to accelerate progress towards a malaria-free Nigeria while remaining consistent with national health priorities and the World Health Organisation’s global malaria strategy.

He commended the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP), the National Population Commission (NPC), development partners and other stakeholders involved in producing the survey and plan.

Pate also called for a shared national effort involving federal and state governments, the private sector, communities and households, stressing that malaria elimination could not be achieved by government alone.

The 2025 NMIS shows that malaria parasite prevalence among children aged six to 59 months, measured through microscopy, fell from 42 per cent in 2010 to 23 per cent in 2018, 22 per cent in 2021 and 15 per cent in 2025.

However, the national improvement masks substantial differences between states. Prevalence among children in the same age group ranged from two per cent in Lagos State to 31 per cent in Ebonyi State.

The figures indicate that progress has not been evenly distributed and that malaria control efforts must be adapted to the conditions in individual states and communities.

Earlier, the National Coordinator of NMEP, Dr Nnenna Ogbulafor, said the NMSP was developed from the 2025 NMIS findings and other programme data.

She said the evidence would help policymakers locate high-burden areas, improve the design of interventions and direct limited resources to communities most in need.

Ogbulafor said the plan was aligned with Nigeria’s health sector priorities and the WHO Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016–2030.

She identified policy alignment, state-level leadership, domestic financing, partnerships and accountability as central to implementation.

The national coordinator urged state governments, civil society organisations and development partners to take ownership of the plan and support coordinated, adequately funded malaria programmes.

She said the differences in prevalence across states made subnational planning indispensable to meeting the national targets.

Ogbulafor called on states to develop comprehensive malaria control programmes reflecting local disease burdens, epidemiological evidence and available resources.

She also stressed the need for sustained domestic financing and partnerships to close funding gaps and maintain implementation through 2030.

NMEP, she said, would work with the National Malaria Working Group and international partners to track implementation, assess performance and review results regularly.

The plan aims to raise access to and use of preventive interventions to at least 80 per cent, achieve at least 90 per cent effective coverage of malaria diagnosis and appropriate treatment among at-risk populations, and improve surveillance performance from a baseline of 47 per cent to 70 per cent by 2030.

It also targets stronger governance and organisational capacity, with at least 60 per cent of malaria programme resources expected to come from domestic sources by 2030.

The survey data show that prevention remains uneven. Only 54 per cent of households had at least one insecticide-treated net, while 45 per cent of children under five and 54 per cent of pregnant women aged 15–49 slept under a net on the night before the survey.

Protection during pregnancy was also incomplete. Among women aged 15–49 who had a live birth in the preceding two years, 62 per cent received at least one dose of sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine during their last pregnancy, but only 33 per cent received three or more doses.

The findings point to the need to expand access to insecticide-treated nets and intermittent preventive treatment for pregnant women.

Diagnosis is another major gap. Of children under five who had a fever in the two weeks before the survey, 59 per cent had advice or treatment sought, but only 18 per cent had blood taken for malaria testing.

The strategic plan therefore places emphasis on prompt testing, appropriate treatment, preventive services and public awareness.

In his remarks, the Director-General of NPC, Dr Abubakar Muhammed, pledged the commission’s continued support for credible demographic and health data to guide policymaking and malaria elimination efforts.

Muhammed said the survey reflected the partnership between the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, through NMEP, and the NPC.

He said the collaboration brought together expertise in malaria control, demographic surveys and data management to produce information for national planning and development.

The NPC director-general said the commission would continue to modernise its survey operations through technologies such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) and spatial techniques.

He urged policymakers, programme managers, researchers and development partners to use the findings to refine strategies, improve implementation and target communities where interventions were most needed.

Muhammed commended the ministry, NMEP, technical consultants, state enumerators and field teams for their roles in conducting the survey.

He said the report would provide a strong evidence base for a coordinated national malaria response.

The launch of the NMIS report and NMSP 2026–2030 places the next phase of Nigeria’s malaria response on a clearer understanding of where the disease remains most entrenched, while challenging states and partners to convert that evidence into measurable local action.

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