Policy Alert Raises Red Flag over TB Funding, Urges Akwa Ibom Government to Allocate Budget Line
Policy Alert, a Civil Society Organization (CSO), has raised a red flag over the funding crisis facing Tuberculosis (TB) control efforts in Akwa Ibom State, urging the State government to allocate lined items for TB funding.
The concerns were raised at a capacity-building workshop for CSOs and media on July 22, 2024, at Jossyshield Security Services, Training and Event Centre, Uyo. The project, codenamed “Transformative Budgeting and Financing for Improved Tuberculosis Services (Fund TB Project),” sought to enhance the knowledge of CSOs and the media on TB issues and advocacy strategies.
The Fund TB project is anchored by Policy Alert in Akwa Ibom State and implemented in partnership with Palladium Group, under the health component of Strengthening Civic Advocacy and Local Engagement (SCALE).
The project implemented in five focal states – Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Cross River, Delta, and Imo, is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The Fund TB Project Director for Policy Alert, Koko Udo, in his brief, revealed the urgent need for Akwa Ibom State to have a lined item for TB in the 2025 budget, adding that the training is necessary to raise these concerns to the government and push for implementation.
Udo expressed optimism that the advocacy will be given due attention as part of Governor Umo Eno’s Arise agenda on health, as well as improved private sector partnership that will lead to donation of equipment, renovation of DOT centers, and awareness.
In his presentation on “Current Policy and Budgetary Environment for TB and Policy Alternatives,” Ekemini Simon, an award-winning investigative journalist, highlighted the urgent need for the government to allocate adequate funding for TB, noting that it is the world’s second leading cause of death from a single infectious agent after COVID-19.
Simon revealed that the TB crisis in Nigeria has reached an alarming rate, with the country ranking 6th globally and 1st in Africa among nations with the highest TB burden. He noted that, according to the Minister for Health, Nigeria recorded 285,561 TB cases in 2022, which surged to over 300,000 in 2023, noting that the human toll of the TB epidemic is staggering, with 97,900 deaths reported in 2022 alone.
He noted that at least one person dies from TB every five minutes, despite the disease being curable and preventable. Simon stressed the need for increased domestic funding to combat TB, as Nigeria currently relies heavily on international donors.
He noted that the government’s target of 50% domestic funding for TB by 2025 is still far from being met, with only 20% achieved as of 2023, noting that the budget required to implement this strategy is USD $1,944,925,000, highlighting the significant funding gap.
In Akwa Ibom State, Simon revealed that the State has approximately 3,200 TB patients currently on treatment, with a low TB awareness rate, inadequate nutrition for vulnerable patients, dilapidated TB DOT centers, and insufficient laboratory equipment.
He lamented that the state’s 2022 budget allocated N21 million for the completion of a TB lab and N10 million in 2023 for the completion of the Infectious Disease Hospital, Ikot Ekpene, stating that the current funding situation is inadequate, with no clear budget line for TB in the 2024 budget.
He urged the Akwa Ibom State government to prioritize TB control efforts by allocating a dedicated budget line for TB funding, increasing funding for TB services, and ensuring timely release of funds for TB programs, stressing that this is necessary to addressing the gaps in TB services, including diagnosis, treatment, and patient support.
Simon proposed policy alternatives, including increasing domestic funding, public-private partnerships, community-based approaches, innovative financing mechanisms, policy integration, and technology utilization, as alternatives to address Nigeria’s TB burden, particularly in the face of declining donor funding.
Speaking on “Leveraging Effective Communication Storytelling and Skillful Advocacy for Policy and Behavioral Change,” Mr. Ndifreke Patrick noted the need for effective communication to inform, persuade, and move to action, and highlighted the elements of skillful storytelling, including setting, characters, sensory information, situation, place, conflict, drama, opposing forces, choices, actions, and solutions.
Patrick, who defined policy advocacy as the deliberate process of informing and influencing decision-makers in support of evidence-based policy change, stressed the importance of advocacy to solve specific problems through concrete changes in public policies and programs, promote and consolidate democracy.
He outlined letter writing, education, legal and law-making processes, communication, negotiations, visits and engagement, media, civic demonstrations, and coalition building, as effective advocacy strategies.
Patrick stressed the importance of building coalitions with advocacy partners to enhance the reach of advocacy efforts, enable greater efficiency and effectiveness, leverage comparative advantages, and reduce duplication.
By leveraging effective communication, storytelling, and advocacy strategies, Patrick argued that individuals and organizations can drive policy change and promote behavioral change.