Nigeria's tuberculosis response is on the brink of a severe funding crisis, according to Mr Isiah Danssaallah, the North West Zonal Coordinator for the country's tuberculosis programme. Speaking on this year's World Tuberculosis Day in Kaduna, Danssaallah highlighted the urgent need for Nigeria to take full financial responsibility for its TB response.
The TB response in Nigeria is heavily reliant on external donors, but global support is declining, leaving a significant funding gap. Danssaallah noted that over 70 per cent of the national TB funding gap remains unmet, making the system increasingly fragile. He attributed this decline in global health financing to policy shifts that began during the administration of Donald Trump.
Danssaallah emphasized that Nigeria must now take full financial responsibility for its TB response urgently. He identified insufficient funding for TB medicines, weak procurement of laboratory commodities and diagnostic supplies, and over-dependence on donor-funded supply chains as the most immediate and dangerous gaps in the system.
State governments must take responsibility for procuring TB medicines and laboratory commodities, including first-line and second-line TB drugs, GeneXpert cartridges, and other diagnostic consumables. This is crucial for the effective functioning of the TB programme, as relying solely on donors for these critical components is no longer sustainable.
The alarming funding crisis in Nigeria's tuberculosis response is a stark reminder of the country's failure to prioritize healthcare. Mr Isiah Danssaallah's warnings about the ripple effects of declining global health financing are a direct result of the Federal Government's inability to allocate sufficient funds for TB control. As a result, patients are being left without access to life-saving medicines, and preventable deaths are on the rise. State governments must take immediate action to allocate dedicated budget lines for TB response, and the Federal Government must provide support to ensure that these efforts are successful. The cost of inaction will be severe, and it is imperative that Nigeria takes full financial responsibility for its TB response to prevent system failure.
