Nigeria Commemorates World TB Day 2025

As part of Nigeria’s 2025 World Tuberculosis Day Commemoration, a church sensitization and screening event scheduled for Sunday March 16, 2025, at St. Mary Catholic Church in Karu took place. This initiative is organized by the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme (NTBLCP) , the Federal Capital Territory Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme (FCT TBLCP) and implementing partners of Tuberculosis at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, located along Nyanya-Karshi road, Karu, Abuja.

The outreach team were able to carry out engagements during the service hour and one-on-one sensitization at the closing of service.

Key areas they focused on included the fact that treatment is free, Access to TB hotline 3340 is available, they spoke about the symptoms of TB, and the request for the church members to serve as advocates of TB.

Discussions around HIV/ TB and Children Diagnosis and the congregants were referred to the NTBLCP website for more information.

According to Akpa Samuel on behalf of the community outrrach team, their challenge was the inability to carry out screening exercises at the Church as planned.

NOTE: World TB Day observed annually on March 24, amplifies the urgency of ending tuberculosis—the world’s deadliest infectious disease. TB continues to devastate millions globally, inflicting severe health, social, and economic consequences. This year’s theme, Yes! We Can End TB: Commit, Invest, Deliver, is a bold call for hope, urgency, and accountability.

According to World Health Organisation, most of the people who fall ill with TB live in low- and middle-income countries, but TB is present all over the world. About half of all people with TB can be found in 8 countries: Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines and South Africa.

About a quarter of the global population is estimated to have been infected with TB bacteria, but most people will not go on to develop TB disease and some will clear the infection. Those who are infected but not (yet) ill with the disease cannot transmit it.

People infected with TB bacteria have a 5–10% lifetime risk of falling ill with TB. Those with compromised immune systems, such as people living with HIV, malnutrition or diabetes, or people who use tobacco, have a higher risk of falling ill.

According to the NTBLCP website, there is only about 43.8% TB treatment coverage and about 17,600 Drug-Resistant TB Notification cases as at 2022.

The National planning committee has many more activities lined up to commemorate Tuberculosis Day 2025. Among which are a Pre- World TB Day press conference, A number of community outreaches across different categories and locations within and around the Federal Capital Territory.