The World Health Organisation, on Monday, expressed readiness to work with the Borno State government to nip in the bud the “increasing rate of tuberculosis infection in Borno.”
The organisation’s Head of Mission/Country Representative, Dr Walter Mulombo, expressed the concern during the North-East Nigeria 13th WHO End-Term Joint Operations.
Mulombo 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 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, Governor 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 WHO to help in that regard, as well as in tackling gender-based violence, among other concerns.
