Stakeholders call for stronger human rights protection as National Assembly holds public hearing on TB rights bill 

The House of Representatives Committee on Infectious Diseases recently held a one-day public hearing at the National Assembly, Abuja, on key bills aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s response to infectious diseases, including the proposed Tuberculosis Rights Bill.

The public hearing was chaired by Hon Mark Esset, representing the Chairman of the House Committee on Infectious Diseases Hon. Amobi Godwin Ogah.

The hearing provided an opportunity for legislators, government institutions, civil society organisations, health experts, TB survivors, affected communities, development partners, and members of the public to make submissions on the Bill before the Committee.

The bills considered at the hearing included the Bill for an Act to make provision for the prevention of Tuberculosis-based discrimination and the protection of the fundamental human rights and dignity of people living with and affected by Tuberculosis.

The chairman’s welcome address noted that the public hearing was convened to allow stakeholders and the public to express their views on the merits and gaps in the proposed legislation. 

He described the TB Bill as an important intervention aimed at giving Nigerians living with and affected by TB a sense of belonging by protecting their fundamental human rights and preventing discrimination and stigmatization. 

The Committee Chairman further observed that Nigeria has long had a legal gap in the protection of the rights and dignity of persons affected by TB.

Key government ministries supported the passage of the Bill, while calling for targeted amendments to make it more comprehensive and implementable. 

The memorandum submitted on behalf of the Ministry and NTBLCP noted that stigma is not a peripheral social issue but a driver of late presentation, poor treatment outcomes, poverty, social exclusion, and continued transmission. It is recommended that the Bill be strengthened to protect confidentiality, informed consent, reasonable accommodation, access to justice, and enforceable remedies. 

A key recommendation was that the Bill should be expanded from a TB-only framework to an integrated protection law for persons affected by Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Buruli Ulcer. It further recommended that the Bill address technical and biomedical accuracy, testing and screening safeguards, healthcare worker protection, duties of persons affected by TB, implementation accountability, and operational safeguards.

Stakeholders like the Lawyers Alert, Stop TB Partnership Nigeria, TB Network and Debriche Health Development Center DHDC also highlighted the need for the Bill to protect vulnerable and marginalised groups and ensure community-led monitoring. 

Specific recommendations included child-friendly TB services, protection of children from school exclusion, safeguards for informed consent where children or persons lacking capacity are involved, gender-responsive protections for women and girls, protection against domestic violence and abandonment linked to TB status, and workplace protections for both formal and informal sector workers. Stakeholders noted that the success of the TB Bill will not be measured by passage alone, but by its practical impact on persons affected by TB. 

The final law must help people seek care without fear, protect workers from unfair dismissal, keep children in school, support women at risk of abandonment, protect healthcare workers from occupational infection, reduce catastrophic costs, and give communities a real voice in ending TB.

The advocacy for the TB Rights Bill and the public hearing builds on years of legal and policy engagement, with support from the Stop TB Partnership Challenge Facility for Civil Society (CFCS) Grant-making mechanism, supporting work that highlights gaps in the legal environment affecting persons with TB. 

Through the CFCS grant, rights violations were documented, and this evidence has strengthened the case for legal reform and helped move TB-related discrimination from a hidden social issue to a national legislative concern.

Stop TB Partnerships’ role in advancing the TB Rights Bill has been central to the progress recorded so far. 

Through the support of the Stop TB Partnership under the Challenge Facility for Civil Society, Lawyers Alert has played a pivotal role in reshaping Nigeria’s TB response from a purely medical issue to one centred on human rights, legal protection, and community empowerment. Its work has focused on driving the TB Rights Bill, documenting rights violations against persons affected by TB, and advancing gender equality in access to health services.

The public hearing ended with a broad call for the National Assembly to advance a strengthened TB Bill that protects dignity, prohibits discrimination, supports public health, empowers communities, guarantees access to care, and provides clear enforcement mechanisms.

If passed and effectively implemented, the TB Bill will provide Nigeria with a landmark legal framework to end TB-related stigma and discrimination, protect persons affected by TB, strengthen community participation, and advance the country’s goal of ending tuberculosis.