Going by increasing rate and prevalence of tuberculosis across the world which is estimated to be 10.4 million as of 2015 for which Nigeria accounts for 600,000 annually, the Federal Government has partnered donor agencies such as USAID – United States Agency for International Development and KNCV Tuberculosis Foundations.
The strategic partnership, according to findings, gave birth to a medical project tagged, “Wellness on Wheels – WOW Project” which is centred on mobile truck equipped with digital X-ray facility that operates within 2 minutes per person and offers free Tuberculosis testing services in Nigeria communities.
Speaking at the inauguration of medical mobile truck tagged, “WOW” in Abeokuta on Friday, Isaac Adewole, the Minister of Health, declared that the initiative was part of concerted effort of both Federal and State governments to control the prevalence of the highly contagious air-borne disease as the project is pioneered in Ogun and Nasarawa states
The Minister said that the partnership between Nigeria government and donor agencies resulted into vigorous testing and treatment of tuberculosis, having observed that Nigeria has worst case of tuberculosis in Africa with five of six cases undetected in the country, adding that the project was to detect the cases for effective treatment.
He said, “We are flagging off this initiative to improve TB cases detection in our country. Nigeria has about 600, 000 TB cases every year and we have the fourth largest burden of TB all over the world and we are number one in Africa.
“What is particularly worrisome is that we are only able to detect one out of six cases of TB. In terms of detection, Nigeria has scored the least in the world in terms of being able to pick TB cases.
“The danger is that TB is infective and the five out of six cases undetected will infect other people and therefore our mandate is to increase case detection, so that the five missing cases will be detected and treated, hence, this unique initiative called ‘Wellness on Wheel’.
“With this innovative idea, we can diagnose TB within a very short time, at most, two hours, we can do x-ray using this vehicle, we can also detect TB cases using generic test, we will also know if the case is drug resistance type or non drug resistance type.”
Earlier, Babatunde Ipaye, Commissioner for Health said that Ogun state accounts for about 16,728 cases annually in the country, adding: “to this end, rapid and accelerated expansion of TB services, improved partnership collaboration and embracement of innovative approaches are some of the immediate steps the Ogun State Ministry of Health and its key stakeholders are undertaking.”
But, Governor Ibikunle Amosun who was adopted as TB Champion in the country, said the initiative would further help data gathering in the state as the confidence reposed in the state would not be taken for granted since tuberculosis doesn’t recognise status, religion or tribe.
He assured, the mobile truck equipped with modern facilities to detect disease and takes the pressure of diagnosis and treatment off clinics as the truck moves from one community to the other across the state, just as the governor pledged to take the initiative to other brother governors in the country.
RAZAQ AYINLA, Abeokuta
