Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has issued a stark warning about the devastating toll of tuberculosis (TB) in Nigeria, revealing that one person dies from the disease every seven minutes, despite it being both preventable and curable.
Speaking at a community outreach in Sauka, Abuja, to mark the 2025 World TB Day, Tinubu described TB as a “national emergency” and called for urgent intervention. Citing alarming figures from the World Health Organisation’s 2024 Global TB Report, she lamented that Nigeria remains one of the world’s top eight TB-burdened countries, with thousands suffering in silence due to stigma and lack of awareness.
“It is unacceptable that so many of our brothers and sisters still suffer from this disease in silence,” she stated, urging immediate action.
The First Lady called on government agencies, traditional and religious leaders, private organisations, and healthcare workers to intensify efforts in combating the disease. As the Global and National Stop TB Champion, she vowed to push for increased funding, policy reforms, and awareness campaigns to fight the epidemic.
