…says response to disease can’t depend solely on external assistance
The First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, has reaffirmed the nation’s commitment to end tuberculosis in the country by the year 2030, insisting that the response to the disease could not depend solely on external assistance.
Her spokesperson, Busola Kukoyi, in a press release, said Mrs Tinubu stated this as the special guest of honour at the 39th Stop TB Partnership Board Meeting held in Manila.
The First Lady maintained that through leadership, community engagement and strategic national coordination, Nigeria has ensured that the number of people diagnosed and treated for TB has significantly increased.
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She told the gathering of over 180 participants from 47 countries that Nigeria was strengthening its commitment to reduce reliance on donor funding, to build resilient systems, and to ensure that no setback, however unexpected, would derail her mission to end TB by 2030.
“I am equally pleased to share that, despite the temporary shifts in support from some financing partners, Nigeria’s efforts in the fight against TB have remained strong.
“Through steadfast leadership, community engagement, and strategic national coordination, we have ensured that the number of people diagnosed and treated for TB in 2025 did not decline.
“This stands as a testament to the power of country ownership and to the unwavering commitment of Nigerians who continue to drive this response forward, even in the face of uncertainty”.
Mrs Tinubu emphasised that health for all begins in the communities.
“Coming together for the Stop TB Partnership Board meetings reminds us that the fight against tuberculosis is not finished and that TB remains the biggest infectious killer disease and is a threat to all of us, being airborne”.
“It claims close to 1.3 million lives each year. In Nigeria, we remain among the eight countries that account for two-thirds of global TB cases, with an estimated 479,000 Nigerians developing TB in 2023 and more than 150,000 deaths recorded. These are not numbers; they are mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters whose lives compel us to act with urgency and compassion.
As the First Lady of Nigeria and as a Global and National Stop TB Champion, I reaffirm Nigeria’s unwavering commitment to end TB by 2030, in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR.
Nigeria’s First Lady commended the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and its affiliate agencies, the Stop TB Partnership and others for their dedication and transparency in ensuring that all the money mobilised towards expanding access to testing, diagnosis, treatment and integrating TB services into primary healthcare were judiciously utilised.
In his remarks, the Stop TB Partnership Board Chair and Secretary of Health of the Philippines, Teodoro Herbosa, pointed out that TB is more than a health concern but a development challenge for many nations.
“It is a critical fight, despite the remarkable progress made, but we must be relentless and determined.
AI and innovative technology must be deployed to improve testing, detection and treatment of TB if we are going to win the fight effectively. Digital transformation of TB care must be pursued and sustained”.
The Executive Director of Stop TB Partnership, Dr Lucica Ditiu, while giving the board report, noted that integrating data systems with governments of various countries is vital to ending TB by 2030.
“In 5 countries, in the last 2 months, a new facility for grants has been deployed, and with it, 8,000 were screened, 5,000 were diagnosed, and 3,000 enrolled in preventive treatment,” she declared.
Ditiu concluded that to make greater and sustained progress, countries and governments must own their TB responses, construct systems that endure, put TB on the front-burner at all times, incorporate civil societies, communities and survivors into the fight against the disease and ultimately.
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