Wife of the Nigeria president, Aisha Buhari, has called for combined efforts by nations of the world in order to curb the challenges posed by infectious diseases.

She said this in her speech at “The Stop Tuberculosis Partnership Opening Dialogue” on the sidelines of the ongoing 71st United Nations General Assembly in New York, the United States.

The president’s wife addressed an audience made up of medical professionals, non-governmental organisations, community representatives, the academia and chief executives of pharmaceutical companies.

She noted that the rise of infectious diseases could also spread fear and panic as well as “impact the very core of society as shown by the recent Ebola epidemic.”

Buhari pointed out that Nigeria is one of the worst hit nations by Tuberculosis in Africa, with almost 600,000 people living with the disease.

She added however that no disease in history had crossed as many borders and inflicted as much damage as tuberculosis, hence the need for world leaders to include it as part of the challenges confronting the global community.

“A comprehensive national TB surveillance survey conducted in 2012 revealed the burden to be much larger than previously thought with about 300,000 additional TB cases, and a 400% increase in mortality numbers,” the president’s wife stated.

She expressed delight that ‘Stop TB Partnership’, tuberculosis “is beginning to receive a more deserving label “as a global emergency that demands a political response at the highest levels.”

The first Lady backed the recent call by the South African Minister Matsoaledi for a United Nations High-Level meeting on TB in September 2017.

She pledged to mobilise other first ladies across the world and wives of Nigeria’s governors to commit to the efforts at ending tuberculosis.