High tuberculosis prevalence in Nigeria is the result of inadequate awareness of the disease and a reluctance to seek treatment among people with TB, Wale Akeredolu, Lagos Island government medical officer, said recently, the Daily Trust/AllAfrica.com reports.

Akeredolu recently called on the government and other stakeholders to increase TB awareness and prevention campaigns. In addition, the government should establish new treatment centers to increase access, Akeredolu said. "The government should make affordable TB treatment accessible to the people through the establishment of treatment centers" throughout the country, he said. He added that people with TB should seek treatment early. Nigeria ranks fifth on the World Health Organization's list of the 22 countries with the highest TB burdens worldwide, according to Nigerian Health Minister Babatunde Osotimehin (Daily Trust/AllAfrica.com, 4/17).