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The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi, said, on Tuesday, that 15,000 residents had been diagnosed with tuberculosis.
Abayomi revealed this at the Banquet Hall, Lagos House, Ikeja, during the investiture of Champions and Ambassadors of the Lagos Steering Committee for TB.
Tuesday marked the second day of the programme which began on Monday and being spearheaded by the wife of the Lagos State Governor, Dr Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu.
Female local government chairpersons and wives of the Local Government Area and Local Council Development Area chairmen were officially decorated as champions and ambassadors of the initiative to combat tuberculosis in the state.
While speaking, Abayomi said, “According to the statistics that we get from the Federal Government, there should be 32,000 Lagosians with tuberculosis that we need to diagnose. We’ve only been able to diagnose about 15,000 this year if we add up all our numbers.
“Ladies, that means that there are 15,000 people in Lagos right now, walking around and living with tuberculosis that have not been diagnosed. That’s the first point I want you to understand; that there are people living with us in the community who have active TB that we have not diagnosed.
“And those are the 15,000 that the First Lady is mandating you to find and bring into the treatment facilities, which as you have heard is totally free.”
The governor’s wife, Ibijoke, said it took her almost five years to carry out the programme.
“I was first invested in 2019, we’re in 2024. We’ve been doing so many programmes, but I’ve not been able to do the best job for the local government chairmen’s wives and the female chairmen. So honestly, I’m so delighted. And all glory and all honour belong to God for making it possible.
On her part, the Deputy Director and Programme Manager, Lagos State Steering Committee for Tuberculosis, Dr Cecilia Magbogunje, said the involvement of the wives of our local government chairman and female chairman was a testament to the understanding that health is a community affair.
She said, “Their leadership will be instrumental in raising awareness, mobilising resources and fostering a culture of health within our neighborhoods. By working together, we can break the cycle of stigma and misinformation surrounding tuberculosis.”
