Bauchi govt purchases 13 mobile scanning machines to fight TB Disease – BACATMA
The Bauchi State Government has acquired 13 portable digital machines worth over $150,000 to enhance tuberculosis diagnosis and curb the disease.
The Executive Chairman of the Bauchi State Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis & Malaria (BACATMA), Dr. Adamu Umar Sambo, disclosed this during a recent tour of the agency’s facility.
Dr. Sambo explained that the machines are mobile, easy to operate, and use high-resolution imaging to detect TB in the chest, adding that the machines have less radioactive danger to human health compared to the conventional ones.
Dr. Sambo disclosed that five of the machines have been deployed to high-flow facilities for testing of TB, and five others are moving round the communities.
“We have one of the machines allocated to Bayara hospital and one other to the key populations, the key populations are people that are special groups of people that may not necessarily want to associate with others”, he said.
He said that the agency plans to officially inaugurate the machines soon, explaining that some are already in use in the field.
The commissioner commended Governor Bala Mohammed for supporting the agency, expressing the governor’s willingness to provide more machines.
“Bauchi State now has the highest number of TB scanning machines in the North, with other states interested in acquiring them through the Bauchi State Government”, he said.
The commissioner further noted that the state government has procured adequate insecticidal treated mosquito nets for distribution to households in 2026.
He further appreciated governor Mohammed, who he said have strengthened the agency by relocating it to the former State Primary healthcare development Board with massive renovation for optimum performance.
Dr. Sambo said, despite the cut in funding by the American government, the Bauchi state government under Senator Bala Mohammed has stepped up measures to ensure that the challenges posed by such cuts are mitigated, and the agency is well funded.
