On Monday, the World Health Organization (WHO) raised an alarm over the rise of Tuberculosis (TB) infection in Borno state.

Walter Mulombo, the organisation’s Head of Mission/Country Representative described the occurrence as the “increasing rate of tuberculosis (TB) infection in Borno”, thus expressing the concern during the North-East Nigeria 13th WHO End-Term Joint Operations Review (JOR) in Yola, the Adamawa State capital.

Mulombo according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) assured of WHO’s readiness to work with the Borno State government to address the problem.

He said: “The rate of tuberculosis infection in Borno is worrisome. It means that Borno could be a ticking bomb for tuberculosis explosion in Nigeria.

“We don’t want to allow that because of humanitarian crisis; we need to work together because that thing itself is strictly an emergency,” he stated.

He further urged stakeholders to take action to accelerate help and to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal of leaving no one behind.

Nevertheless, Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State who was represented by the Commissioner for Health, Baba Malam-Gana, said the state has lost about 50 per cent of its health institutions and that many staff were abducted or killed due to the insurgency.

“One of the consequences of this is the issue of tuberculosis, which needs a lot of staff to work on it, including machines”, he lamented.

He also said that Borno state has many areas which are hard to reach, in effect making basic health delivery service impossible to administer.

Nonetheless, he pleaded with the health organisation to come to the state’s aid in that regard.