Stakeholders and the Civil Society for the Eradication of Tuberculosis in Nigeria, TB Network, have called on the Federal Government to urgently release the 54 million dollars committed to the procurement of tuberculosis drugs and diagnostic supplies, warning that continued delays could trigger a major public health crisis.
The stakeholders said several health facilities across the country were already experiencing shortages of tuberculosis medicines, with some reportedly suspending the diagnosis of new patients due to the lack of drugs.
In March 2026, the Federal Government announced a 54 million dollar commitment to secure TB medicines and prevent nationwide stock-outs. However, the TB Network says the funds are yet to be released, raising concerns over the country’s preparedness to manage the disease.
Speaking at a recent three-day training for journalists on drug-resistant tuberculosis reporting, the National Coordinator of TB Network, Olayide Akanni, appealed to the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Ali Pate, to intervene and ensure the immediate release of the funds.
Akanni warned that the situation could worsen Nigeria’s tuberculosis burden, particularly amid increasing cases of drug-resistant TB and shortages of tuberculosis preventive treatment, which is administered to people at high risk of developing the disease.
She noted that the absence of preventive medicines also exposes close contacts of infected persons to greater risk, adding that Nigeria could face a serious epidemic if the funding gap and drug shortages are not urgently addressed.
A health officer involved in tuberculosis management, who spoke anonymously, said the available drugs might not last until December 2026, explaining that supplies recently distributed to states were insufficient to clear the backlog of diagnosed patients and cater for new cases.
Providing an expert perspective, a consultant pulmonologist and Head of the Training Department at the National Institute of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Zaria, Kaduna State, Dr Eunice Jiya-Chitumu, warned that drug shortages could disrupt treatment, increase transmission and reverse progress made in tuberculosis control.
She explained that interruptions in treatment could increase the risk of drug resistance, complicate patient management and expose more people to infection.
According to the World Health Organisation, tuberculosis is an infectious disease that primarily affects the lungs and spreads through the air when infected persons cough, sneeze or spit.
The WHO estimates that more than 10 million people contract tuberculosis annually, while about one million die from the disease, making it one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases.
Nigeria has the highest tuberculosis burden in Africa and ranks sixth globally. Despite the scale of the challenge, the country faces a 70 per cent funding gap for its TB response, with domestic resources accounting for only six per cent of the national tuberculosis budget.
The stakeholders have therefore urged federal and state governments to increase domestic investment in tuberculosis control, particularly as reductions in international donor funding continue to threaten the sustainability of health programmes.
