FG Tasks LG Supervisors To Close 500,000 TB Case Detection Gap

The National Tuberculosis, Buruli Ulcer and Leprosy Control Programme (NTBLTCP) has tasked Local Government TB Supervisors with strengthening grassroots tuberculosis detection to help reduce the disease burden in Nigeria.

Dr Clement Adesigbin, National Coordinator of NTBLTCP, gave the charge while declaring open Batch 83 training for Local Government Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Buruli Ulcer Supervisors in Zaria, Kaduna State on Tuesday.

He described the supervisors as the foundation for effective implementation of national policies and programmes on tuberculosis, leprosy and Buruli ulcer, emphasising their critical role in translating policies into grassroots action.

Adesigbin said although the national programme was responsible for developing policies, successful implementation depended largely on the knowledge, capacity and commitment of health workers at local government level nationwide.

“We can have the best policy in the world, but if we do not have people at the grassroots to implement it and make it real, it becomes useless,” he said.

According to him, Nigeria still has a significant gap in tuberculosis case detection, with the country expected to identify more than 500,000 new TB cases annually at present each year.

He said treatment coverage stood at about 89 per cent as of 2025, indicating that a number of people living with tuberculosis were still being missed across the country each year.

Adesigbin warned that undetected cases could continue infecting others, stressing that early diagnosis and treatment remained critical to breaking transmission chains and reducing the disease burden further in affected communities nationwide.

He urged participants to use the five-week training to strengthen their clinical and managerial competencies and develop practical strategies for improving tuberculosis control in their respective local government areas across Nigeria.

The national coordinator also expressed concern over persistent pockets of leprosy cases in some parts of Nigeria, in spite of the country having achieved elimination of leprosy as a public health problem nationwide.

He attributed some challenges to disruptions in the supply of leprosy medicines, but said the situation was gradually stabilising through coordinated efforts involving government and relevant stakeholders in recent months.

Adesigbin said the Federal Government was working with stakeholders to identify leprosy hotspots and establish a baseline that would support targeted interventions and improve disease surveillance nationwide across affected areas.

He further disclosed that rapid diagnostic tests for leprosy were being piloted and validated to complement clinical diagnosis, accelerate case detection and support timely treatment of affected persons nationwide.

On Buruli ulcer, he said efforts were underway to expand access to diagnosis, including Polymerase Chain Reaction confirmation, through collaboration with relevant institutions and development partners across states in Nigeria.

Adesigbin urged trainees to also study relevant policy documents, understand their responsibilities and identify areas requiring further improvement throughout the five-week training programme at NIPHID in Zaria and beyond, where necessary.

He also advised them to continue learning after returning to their duty posts by actively networking with experienced TBLS, state programme managers and other senior colleagues across their respective states regularly.

The coordinator charged trainees to share knowledge and use the skills acquired to mentor colleagues, strengthen team capacity and improve tuberculosis, leprosy and Buruli ulcer control nationwide in practice and sustainably.

Earlier, Dr Dalhatu Aminu, Acting Chief Executive Officer, National Institute of Public Health and Infectious Diseases (NIPHID), described the training as a vital capacity-building initiative for disease-control supervisors nationwide in Nigeria.

Aminu said the five-week programme was designed to provide rigorous, interactive and practical training covering leprosy, monitoring and evaluation, supervision and other competencies required for effective grassroots programme implementation nationwide locally.

He said local government supervisors played critical roles in recording, reporting and ensuring data quality, adding that accurate information would shape national policies and attract funding for disease-control efforts nationwide annually.

“You are the engine that drives our reporting system and the accuracy of our national statistics depends on you,” Aminu said.

Similarly, Mrs Jiya Chitumu, Head of Training, NIPHID, urged participants to maximise the opportunity to improve their knowledge, skills and practical capacity for managing tuberculosis, leprosy and Buruli ulcer nationwide.

Chitumu said the trainees constituted the 83rd batch trained by the institute, emphasising the importance of strong laboratory systems for prompt diagnosis, drug-resistance determination and timely treatment initiation for disease control.

She challenged participants to develop personal action plans outlining improvements they would make after completing the programme, particularly in disease management, documentation and implementation of control activities at their duty posts.