From John Ekah, Gusau
Milk of human kindness flowed freely from the wife of Zamfara State Governor, Hajiya Huriyya Dauda Lawal, as she donated 28 Bajaj motorcycles and two Toyota Hillux vehicles for use by state supervisors of Tuberculosis (TB) and Human immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV) programs in the state.
Also to deploy the vehicles are assistant supervisors and ward program officers.
She reiterated that all forms of treatment for eradication of TB/HIV is free of cost.
Hajiya Lawal spoke as she received an Award of Excellence to champion the cause of the program in the state.
The event took place at Government House, Gusau, the state capital.
The First Lady announced the theme of the 2025 World TB Day as ‘Yes we can end TB; Commit, Invest and Deliver’, calling on governments, the private sector, health workers and citizens to rise up and support the fight, by taking strong actions in the war against TB/HIV.
Continuing, Hajiya Lawal said that TB is a dangerous disease that affects people across the globe including Nigeria, pointing out that the good news is that TB can be cured.
It takes collective responsibility to find the patients and treat them at the early stage of the infection,she stressed.
The governor’s wife maintained that, it was her joy to stand as a TB champion as well as leading in the awareness and advocacy for eradication of TB in the state.
“Under the leadership of His Excellency, my dear husband, the good Governor of Zamfara State, Dr. Dauda Lawal, we have made progress in the fight against TB infection, and so far, more people have been tested and treated and many lives are saved,” she said.
Hajiya Lawal commended the State Commissioner for Health, Hon. Nafisa Mohammed Maradun and her team for organizing a successful TB Day.
She reechoed that treatment for TB and HIV/AIDS are free in Zamfara state.
Also speaking, the Director of Public Health in the State Ministry of Health, Dr. Yusuf Abubakar Haske, said the donation of the vehicles and motorcycles would assist the workers to go into rural communities to get disease samples and bring them to lab for tests and other medical procedures.
He noted that, Zamfara State has low cases of HIV/AIDS even as the fight against TB is still on.
Emphasizing the importance of the donated vehicles and motorcycles, the state’s TB Program Manager, Dr. Lawal Sani said, so far, active case searches increased in Zamfara, with 10,000 cases of TB discovered in the year 2024, even as 93% cure rate has been achieved and treatment is still on to ensure full recovery of the remaining patients, especially as it takes six months to treat a TB patient t recovery stage.
Dr. Sani disclosed that the program supports 508 private and public facilities in both urban and rural areas to enhance equitable healthcare for all.
He listed the challenges faced by the program to include lack of computer for data management, reporting and coordination; lack of implementation knowledge on the part of newly appointed Local Government supervisors and assistants; non-release of counterpart funding; lack of conducive office accommodation and non-engagement of casual staff who had served the state for six years.
“Particularly, the non-release of counterpart funding hampers our ability to effectively implement our programmes and reach our yearly target,” he lamented.
