Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has initiated a significant collaboration between the National Tuberculosis, Buruli Ulcer, and Leprosy Control Programme (NTBLCP) and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). This partnership aims to integrate tuberculosis (TB) control activities into the Community Development Service (CDS) of the NYSC, aligning with the National Strategic Plan and Breakthrough Action Nigeria’s mission to intensify funding for the fight against TB.
As part of this initiative, the National TB Program organized a two-day training retreat for NYSC staff. The retreat was designed to discuss and standardize the inclusion of TB control activities within the NYSC CDS, marking an important step towards sustainable collaboration between both institutions.
Breakthrough Action Nigeria’s Deputy Program Director for Malaria & TB, Dr. Bolatito Aiyenigba, emphasized that since August 2023, the program has worked with NYSC corps members on a nationwide initiative to promote TB sensitization, screening, and testing at NYSC orientation camps.
Acting National Coordinator of the NTBLCP, Dr. Urhioke Ochuko, expressed appreciation for the NYSC’s collaboration, highlighting Nigeria’s high TB burden and the critical role of NYSC officers in complementing the efforts of the Institute of Human Virology to strengthen the country’s TB response.
NYSC Director General, Brig. General Y.D. Ahmed, represented by Deputy Director of CDS, Mrs. Ajayi Funmilayo, underscored the importance of using the three-week orientation camp to identify presumptive TB cases, facilitating early diagnosis among corps members.
The overall objective of this initiative is to enhance capacity building and reinforce the ongoing engagement between the NTBLCP and NYSC to improve TB control in Nigeria.
REPORTER: BITTO BRYAN, ADBN NEWS.
