WHO raises alarm as TB infection increases in Borno

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Monday raised an alarm over what it termed an “increasing rate of Tuberculosis (TB) infection in Borno.”

The organisation’s Head of Mission/Country Representative, Dr Walter Mulombo, expressed the organisation’s concern during the North-East Nigeria 13th WHO End-Term Joint Operations Review (JOR) in Yola.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by a type of bacteria that often affects the lungs.

NAN also reports that JOR is for Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe (BAY) states affected by the Boko Haram insurgency.

The country representative, however, assured WHO’s readiness to work with the Borno government to address the problem.

He said, “The rate of tuberculosis infection in Borno is worrisome. It means that Borno could be a ticking bomb for the tuberculosis explosion in Nigeria.

“We don’t want to allow that because of the humanitarian crisis; we need to work together because that thing itself is strictly an emergency.’’

Mulombo, therefore, urged stakeholders to take action to accelerate help and to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal of leaving no one behind.

Earlier, Gov. Babagana Zulum of Borno said that the state lost about 50 per cent of its health institutions, and many staff were abducted or killed due to the insurgency.

Represented by the Borno Commissioner for Health, Dr Baba Malam-Gana, Zulum said, “One of the consequences of this is the issue of tuberculosis, which needs a lot of staff to work on it, including machines.

According to him, the state currently uses the help of the military to reach hard-to-reach areas to deliver services such as immunisation.

He urged the world body to help in that regard, as well as in tackling Gender-Based Violence issues, among other areas.

Gov. Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa, represented by the Commissioner for Health, Dr Felix Tangwame, thanked the organisation for its contributions to the state in many ways.

He said WHO had provided various services, such as capacity building and surveillance, to prevent outbreaks of diseases in the state, among others.

He called for more assistance, especially in the area of training for health workers to be updated on new diseases and to know how to handle them.

Dr Muhammad Gana, the Yobe Commissioner for Health, represented by Dr Babagana Abba, the programme manager,

Saving One Million Lives described WHO’s contributions to health issues as “excellent.” He confirmed that, as a result of the insurgency, the state experienced a lot of challenges, but WHO’s intervention helped to ameliorate the situation. (NAN)