From Abdullahi Jalaluddeen, Kano.
Kano state Government has reaffirmed it’s determination in curtailing spread of Tuberculosis disease in the state and the Nation at large.
Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje stated this during the Flagg off event and outreach on Tuberculosis disease at Hotoro primary Healthcare Kano,in commemeration of wold Tuberculosis day celebration.
He said in an efforts to curtail numerous health challenges his administration had increase budgetary Allocation to health sector from fifteen percent to seventeen percent.
Alhaji Abdullahi Umar Ganduje maintained that the state government had also introduced contributory health scheme.
“We initiated and implement contributory health scheme where civil servants are being enrolled ,they contributed into the fund and their families are being attended to,this has included thousand of families into the system who are getting well articulated package on health services”
The Governor noted that his Administration was in consultation with the private sector to provide means of extending the scheme to the private sector.
He noted that for Tuberculosis, the screening,testing and administration of drugs were all free of charge in Kano.
In a remark, Kano state commissioner for health Dr Aminu Ibrahim Tsanyawa said available statistics revealed that ten million people fell ill with Tuberculosis Globally Annually,saying more than one point four million people dies as a result of Tuberculosis.
“Nigeria is ranked the sixth among the thirtieth countries with Tuberculosis and also ranked the fifth in Africa with total of four hundred and fourty thousand people living with Tuberculosis disease”
The commissioner explained that in 2019 Nigeria recorded 155,000 death in 2019.while over Seventy five percent not diagnosed.
He said that Kano state being one of the five states with high burden of TB pateints recorded over thirty two thousand TB pateints in 2019.
Earlier the executive Director of KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation Dr Odume Bethrand said Tuberculosis was an airborne disease and the most infectious killer disease, though preventable and curable.
” Currently, Nigeria is one of the countries with the highest burden of TB, ranking first in Africa and sixth globally. Kano state also ranks among the highest TB burden states in Nigeria. It is estimated that about 18 Nigerians die of TB everyday and Kano state with over 20 million population and high burden of TB comes high in priority for TB control. “
He explained that KNCV recently conducted baseline assessment of the domestic resource mobilization (DRM) landscape in Kano and the preliminary report showed some gap in funding for the TB program as well as in full integration of TB services into the minimum benefit health package in the state health insurance scheme.
Dr Odume Betharand Added that the foundation would continue to build on the partnership with the state and will solicit for more support to the TB program in unmet funding needs, considering this noted gap in domestic resources for TB control in the State.