International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health | September 2021 | Vol 8 | Issue 9 Page 4155 International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health Suleiman AG et al. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2021 Sep;8(9):4155-4160 http://www.ijcmph.com pISSN2394-6032 | eISSN2394-6040 Original Research Article Assessing the capacity of primary health care centres to provide tuberculosis services in Kaduna State, North-Western Nigeria Auwal G. Suleiman 1 *, Shehu S. Umar 2 , Zaharadeen S. Babandi 3 , Abdulhakeem A. Olorukooba 1 , Umar M. Umar 3 INTRODUCTION Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis that most often affects the lungs. Usually, infection occurs when a symptomatic case coughs, sneezes or spits, thus, propelling the bacteria to the outside environment. 1 Depending on several factors, susceptible individuals who picked the bacteria may progress from dormant infection to active disease, which manifests with a barrage of symptoms including unexplained fever, weight loss, cough and difficulty with breathing. 2,3 In some situations, distant organs may be affected including the kidneys, spine and the brain. 4 Left untreated, TB complications commonly lead to respiratory failure and death. Despite remarkable successes recorded in combating the disease, since the mid-1980s, many countries have now started witnessing a resurgence of TB, largely attributed to poor living ABSTRACT Background: Despite earlier successes achieved in combating it, cases of tuberculosis in Nigeria are now on the increase, affecting more people and communities. Primary health care in Nigeria is through ward health system, designed to provide minimum health package to the communities including TB services. This study aimed to ascertain the capacity of PHC centres to provide TB services in Kaduna North senatorial district, Kaduna State, Nigeria. Methods: Four out of eight local Government areas in the district were randomly selected and one PHC per ward was recruited in the study. In each facility, questionnaires developed from the TB tracer items of the WHO service availability and readiness assessment tool were administered to the facility in-charges and TB/DOTS focal persons. Results: Forty four facilities were selected from Zaria, Sabon Gari, Makarfi and Kudan LGAs. Almost all facilities (98%) diagnosed TB clinically and 39 (90%) had anti-TB drugs available. National TB guidelines were lacking in 23 (52%) facilities and only 5 (11%) had additional capacity for sputum microscopy. While 35 (80%) TB/DOTS focal persons had received training on TB diagnosis and treatment, only 24 (55%)received training on TB/HIV co-infection and only 8 (18%) received training on multi-drug resistant TB. Conclusions: While TB services are widely available in the district, urgent need exists for all stakeholders to work together towards equipping those facilities with critical infrastructure that will improve their overall capacity, particularly with regards to comprehensive TB guidelines, laboratory diagnosis and personnel training for effective TB management. Keywords: Tuberculosis, TB, Primary Health Care, PHC, Kaduna, Nigeria 1 Department of Community Medicine, 2 Department of Radiotherapy and Oncology, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria 3 Department of Community Medicine, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria Received: 29 June 2021 Accepted: 06 August 2021 *Correspondence: Dr. Auwal G. Suleiman, E-mail: agsuleiman@abu.edu.ng Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20213512