The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on Tuesday announced it is supporting Nigeria Federal Ministry of Health’s National TB and Leprosy Control Programme (NTBLCP) with $3.3 million in the fight against tuberculosis.
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Nigeria had earlier reported an increase in its tuberculosis cases (138,600) in 2020 than in the previous year 2019 (120,266). This 15% increase was becoming a growing concern in the health sector before USAID sent this aid to help the fight against TB.
Anne Patterson, USAID Mission Director, said that “We are committed to working closely with the Government of Nigeria in expanding early detection and reducing the number of TB cases in the country.”
She added these aids would not just make basic care available to TB patients, but it would also help save more lives.
The donation includes “38 Trunat machines for molecular tests to diagnose tuberculosis, drug-resistant TB with 80,000 testing reagents, 10 high-tech portable digital x-ray systems with computer-aided detection software.”