ABUJA (Office of the First Lady Report) – First Lady of Nigeria and Global TB Ambassador, Dr. Aisha Buhari, has called for more funding to fast track efforts to end Tuberculosis (TB) in Nigeria.
She made the call during the UN High-Level Meeting on Tuberculosis at the UN Headquarters, New York, on Sunday, 22nd September, 2019.
The meeting was aimed at promoting multi-sectoral action to forward the commitments made last year, at the United Nations High-Level Meeting, on Tuberculosis.
Mrs. Buhari who was represented at the meeting by Dr. Hajo Sani, Senior Special Assistant to the President of Nigeria, challenged leaders to increase political commitment and be accountable to their promises of increasing resources and supporting effective and sustainable partnerships to end TB.
She referred to the last meeting of African First Ladies alongside the African Union General Assembly in Addis Ababa, where she made it clear that, TB should be integrated with the fight against HIV/AIDS, as that would harmonize plans and actions relating to the two related killer diseases.
She said, “As a Global TB Champion and Ambassador, I have used my position as the First Lady to promote TB among stakeholders in different sectors, with support from ‘Stop TB Partnership Nigeria’ and working with Wives Of State Governors.”
She therefore called on Governments, United Nations, Agencies, Development Partners, Academic, and Research Institutions, Civil Society, Media, Celebrities, Patients and Survivors and Private Sectors to ensure the implementation of the commitments made at the last meeting.
The Director-General of World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Tedros Ghabreyesus, in his speech delivered by Dr. Zsuzsanna Jakab, Deputy Director-General, WHO, confirmed that successes are being recorded in the fight against TB, but called on stakeholders to advance action and accelerate progress made so far.
He spoke extensively on the Multi-Sectoral Action Framework (MAF -TB) which aims at supporting effective accountability of governments and all stakeholders at global, regional and country levels, to accelerate progress to end the Tuberculosis epidemic.
The Framework, he further said is aligned fully with the ‘End TB Strategy’ and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Edited by Ifeoma
Suleiman Haruna
Director of Information
to First Lady of Nigeria
State House
Abuja
