By Ade Olu
Government and civil society advocates working on response to tuberculosis in Anambra state say the burden of the disease may not reduce except the state government demonstrates the needed financial commitment to TB control program.
They expressed worry that despite worrying statistics around tuberculosis, there have been little or no releases to enable the implementation of the budget line of N50 million annually for 2022 and 2023.
The campaigners made the call at a meeting held in Awka for critical stakeholders including officials from the ministries of Health as well as Budget and Economic Planning, as part of the Fund TB project funded by USAID through the Palladium Group in five South-East and South-South states, under its Strengthening Civic Advocacy and Local Engagement (SCALE) programme.
In a presentation, the Monitoring and Evaluation Focal Person for the State TB Control Program, Mrs Chiamaka Oguejiofor, revealed that the annual prevalence rate of TB in the state is at 323 per 100,000 persons while incidence rate is put at 219 per 100,000.
According to her, Anambra in 2023 met 95% of its TB case finding target with 90% treatment success rate. “We also recorded 59% of our childhood TB case finding target and 31% for DRTB (Drug Resistant TB) case finding target.
“In 2022, the state won an award in childhood TB but could not sustain it in subsequent years.
While noting that the TB Program had judiciously applied the available resources, the M and E Focal Person regretted the relapse due to withdrawal of funding by certain partners.
“From 2300 case detection recorded in 2018, we grew steadily to 2449 in 2019, 3008 in 2020, 4946 in 2021, 8550 in 2022 and 13,125 in 2023. However, case detection reduced from 3002 in the first quarter to of 2024 to 2500 in the second quarter.
The Executive Secretary, Gender Perspective and Social Development Centre, organisers of the meeting, Mrs Eucharia Anekwe, said the organisation with four others in the Fund TB cluster is out to ensure improved domestic funding for TB interventions in Anambra State.
She said, “We kick-started discussions on how to improve funding for tuberculosis in the state. The budget line for TB intervention in the state has been N50 million in 2022 and 2023. Sadly, release has been a problem”.
“The burden of TB is growing in the state. We appeal that government works towards prompt release of funds already budgeted for to the TB Control Program. We are equally advocating for increased budgeting for the disease.
“As we speak, all our LGAs do not have GeneXpert machines and even if all of them have, one is not enough in a local government. We plead with you to use your various offices to ensure an increased budget and prompt releases for TB”.
The Head of Department of Planning, Research and Statistics in the Ministry of Health, Mrs Edith Nwachukwu, while pledging to work towards the improved budgeting and releases for tuberculosis, appealed to other stakeholders to deploy all within their powers to achieve the goal of the Fund TB project in the state.
The Director, Planning in the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Mr Arthur Iwuanya, and his counterpart in the Budget, Mrs Christy Akabua, submitted that increased budgetary allocation is possible but relevant data and information must be presented to justify it at all levels until it is approved.
Stakeholders while submitting that tuberculosis should be treated as an emergency public health concern in the area, also resolved to drive the campaign for increased funding to influencers in the present administration including the wife of the Governor who they noted has shown passion for health issues.
