Lagos empowers women as TB Champions to end disease by 2030

By Doris Obinna

Lagos State has expanded its frontline response to tuberculosis with the formal investiture of female lawmakers, newly elected female local government chairmen, wives of House of Assembly members and spouses of council chairmen as tuberculosis, TB Champions and Ambassadors. 

The initiative, led by the First Lady of Lagos State, Dr. (Mrs.) Claudiana Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, is aimed at deepening community awareness, boosting early case detection and strengthening treatment compliance as the State pushes toward the national End TB 2030 target.

Speaking at the event on Tuesday, held at the First Lady’s Banquet Hall, Lagos House, Alausa, Dr. Sanwo-Olu said the move signaled a new phase in empowering influential women to drive grassroots health advocacy. She disclosed that three of the state’s four female legislators, seven of the eleven female council chairmen, 20 council chairmen’s wives, and seven wives of House of Assembly members had been invested as TB Champions and Ambassadors.

The First Lady noted that Lagos notified more than 19,500 TB cases in 2024, while 11,725 patients were placed on treatment between January and September 2025. Stressing that TB remains both curable and treatable, she emphasized that success depends heavily on well-informed communities and patient support systems.

She urged the new ambassadors to deploy their influence to integrate TB messages into community meetings, mobilize local funding, challenge stigma, and support patients who often face discrimination, job loss and malnutrition during treatment.

Highlighting the burden of the disease in a densely populated megacity, Dr. Sanwo-Olu described community engagement as the strongest tool for tackling both drug-sensitive and drug-resistant forms of TB. She called for stronger political and legislative backing to protect patients, expand access to free screening and treatment across primary healthcare centres and general hospitals, and ensure that awareness reaches every ward and neighbourhood.

In his remarks, Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, described tuberculosis as one of the most dangerous infectious diseases, warning that its slow progression often leads to late detection with fatal consequences. He raised concern about patients who abandon treatment after initial improvement, a pattern that fuels drug-resistant TB and increases the cost and duration of care. He described the investiture as a shift toward community ownership of TB control, noting that respected female leaders are well positioned to ensure early diagnosis and treatment completion.

Special Adviser to the Governor on Health, Dr. Kemi Ogunyemi, commended the First Lady’s commitment to health advocacy and expressed confidence that the newly invested Champions would play a crucial role in reducing stigma and improving access to TB services.

Chairman of the Lagos State TB Steering Committee, Dr. Abimbola Mabogunje, described the event as strategic, noting that the women honoured hold positions capable of shaping community behaviour. She urged them to promote screenings, referrals and patient support while countering myths that hinder early care.

Team Lead of the National TB and Leprosy Control Programme, Dr. Emperor Ubochioma, praised Lagos for its leadership within Nigeria’s TB response, adding that the First Lady’s advocacy at the recent Copenhagen Union Conference boosted the country’s global visibility.

Vice Chair of the Stop TB Partnership, Geneva, Austin Obiefuna, commended the First Lady’s political will and urged the new Champions to take their responsibilities seriously, saying their grassroots influence would determine the pace of progress toward the End TB target.

World Health Organisation (WHO) representative, Dr. Vivian Ebeziako, said the First Lady’s leadership had set a regional benchmark for subnational TB advocacy and reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to supporting Lagos in strengthening healthcare systems and expanding TB services.

She congratulated the new Champions, encouraging them to use their platforms to improve family health and community wellbeing across the state.