World TB Day: Kaduna Urged To Fund Life-Saving Tuberculosis Supplies
Call for Urgent Budget Allocation
THE North West Zonal Coordinator of the Tuberculosis Network Nigeria, Isah Dansallah, has called on the Kaduna State Government to create dedicated budget lines for tuberculosis (TB) commodities.
Dansallah made the appeal on Tuesday during activities marking World Tuberculosis Day 2026, stressing that inadequate funding at the state level poses a serious threat to TB control efforts.
Funding Gaps Threaten Progress
According to him, Nigeria’s TB response is at a critical stage, with delays and inconsistencies in budget releases affecting diagnosis, treatment, and cure rates.
He noted that although the federal government has provided policy direction and coordination, more than 70 per cent of funding gaps for TB programmes remain unmet.
Dansallah warned that Nigeria’s heavy reliance on international donors is becoming increasingly unsustainable due to declining global health financing.
Risk of Drug-Resistant TB
He cautioned that failure to fund essential supplies—such as medicines, diagnostic tools, GeneXpert cartridges, and laboratory reagents—could worsen the situation.
“If the state fails to act, patients may not access treatment, suspected cases may go undiagnosed, and drug-resistant TB could spread,” he warned.
Recommendations for Sustainable Response
Dansallah urged the state government to institutionalise procurement systems, integrate TB commodities into existing supply chains, and ensure transparent tracking of resources.
He emphasised that tuberculosis control must be treated as an essential public health service rather than a donor-dependent programme, calling for immediate action to sustain progress.
