From: Ahmed Rufa’i, Dutse

Diphtheria outbreak in Kano has claimed not less than 520 children the Director General primary healthcare development agency in the state, Muhammad Nasir Muhammad has disclosed

The DG of the agency made the disclosure in a key note address presented at a one day orientation for media practitioners on Diphtheria Outbreak drawn from JIgawa, Kano, Katsina and Sokoto states.

The director general attributed the situation to poor rotten immunisation made with high number of zero doses among the children in the state.

Dr Muhammad decried the shortage of diphtheria vaccine in the states, Kano in particular with about 8,000 confirmed cases representing 80 percent cases.

According to him “The state recieved 200,000 dosage of vaccine and less than one million doses after the outbreak of the disease. But according to our findings we need over 6 million children to be vaccinated”.

He called on the federal government and partners to do something urgently for the speed and effective control, “I use this opportunity to appreciate UNICEF for their commitment on emergency response support”.

Speaking earlier the Chief of UNICEF Field Office in Kano Mr. Rahama R Mohammed Farah described the current Diphtheria Outbreak as a threat to child survival, health and the well-being of children

Mr Farah noted that “It is very important to understand that the Analysis of the vaccination status of the suspected cases shows that 60.8% of all suspected cases are children who were not
vaccinated”.

“As of last week, over 400 suspected cases with 11 deaths have been reported in Kano state.
Eight LGAs are the most affected: They are Ungogo (2651), Dala (989), Fagge (943), Gwale (714), Kumbotso (713), Nassarawa (538), Kano Municipal (506) and
Tarauni (269)”.

He disclosed that “UNICEF is therefore collaborating with government and partners to respond to the emergency to save lives of children affected”.

According to him, the Kano field office hss been giving support to the Diphtheria Response since the first case of the Diphtheria disease in December 2022, “UNICEF has been working with government and partners to respond to the emergency”.

“UNICEF has been and continue to support the diphtheria response in Nigeria focusing on providing technical and financial support to the government in all affected states including Kano state to implement the Diphtheria outbreak response”, Farah emphasis”.

He indicated that the outbreak needs to be urgently stopped, controlled and prevented from spreading, “last week, UNICEF delivered 1.2 million vaccines to the Kano State government in our continuing support to the government for response to the Diphtheria outbreak as Diphtheria is a highly contagious, infectious disease that can cause death”.

“The media has a key role to play particularly in infection prevention and risk communication and community engagement; You will need to educate the public and increasing the awareness of parents, and communities on the disease and the outbreak, on the importance of immunization and what parents need to do in case
of suspected cases and how to prevent infection from further spreading”, UNICEF said.

The Director General of the Institute of Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), Dr. Joseph Ochogwu has raise concern over report that about 970 million people are struggling with mental health worldwide and 284 million people contending with anxiety.
Speaking at the Health Talk session titled, “Mental Health/Emotional Intelligence,” Dr. Ochogwu urged staff of the Institute to take adequate care of their mental issues as individual well-being is key to productivity in the work place.

“We need that state of mental health balance to overcome challenges. Things are not getting easy now, we need unique kind of skill in balancing our individual well-being because if you don’t balance your individual well-being even your family well-being will suffer.”

The resource person of the programme and founder of Secure D Future International Initiative, Dr. Sa’adatu Adamu, also urged staff to take care of their health.

She noted that positive thinking reflect on the psychological being of an individual, adding that negative thoughts are dangerous to one’s wellbeing.

She also told the staff that it is important that one takes care of himself and controls what comes into his mind, adding that when one dwells too much on the negative, such person is taking a destructive part.

The expert noted that depression, one of the major metal health challenges affect so many people, advising the staff to fill their minds with positive thoughts at all time, in other to live above depression and other associated challenges.

She said that it is estimated that about 40.3 percent of people died worldwide because of mental health, adding that in this part of the world, “we are still struggling to understand mental health.”

Listing the negative effects associated with depression, Dr. Adamu said that the estimate of people going through mental health is higher in the country.

The mental health expert, who noted that things are difficult in the country, warned the staff not to allow their minds to dwell on what they couldn’t control, urging them to think positively and take things the way they are.

According to her, dwelling on what one can not control only makes things worse and at the end depression sets in.

She noted that the last stage of depression is when one begin to think of committing suicide, adding, “mental health is something everyone should pay attention to.”

The Senate has urged the Federal Ministry of Health to commence immunization of vulnerable Nigerians against Diphtheria disease following the death of 20 persons in Kaduna State. 

The Senate resolution followed a motion which came under order 41 and 51 sponsored by Sunday Marshall Katung (PDP Kaduna South) informing the Senators that about 20 people have died of Diphtheria in Kafanchan and Makarfi local government areas of Kaduna State. 

Katung said the index case of a four-year-old male child whose illness started on July 4 in Jema’a LGA has led to the killing of about 20 people.

The lawmaker noted that since this index case, the Kaduna State Government has confirmed that the death toll from the diphtheria outbreak in the State has risen to 17 with 68 suspected cases identified across the state as at Sunday the 23rd of July 2023;

According to him, a breakdown analysis shows that10 persons had reportedly died from the disease in Kafanchan, Jema’a Local Government Area of Kaduna State, while 3 children died in Makarfi Local Government Area, while seven others were hospitalized

“Cognizant that diphtheria is a highly contagious, infectious disease caused by a bacterium called Corynebacterium diphtheria rendering infected people struck with serious breathing and swallowing problems that may develop sores on the skin;

“Worried that the highly contagious nature of the disease means that without immediate and concerted efforts towards curbing it, the disease would spread at a devastating rate especially considering the communal and poor living conditions in most rural communities in Nigeria;

“Avers that Nigeria’s recent experiences with Ebola virus and the Covid19 pandemic shows why outbreaks of virus epidemics must be fought with the best biomedical and scientific tools and knowledge available,” Katung said.

The Senate, however, mandated the Federal Ministry of Health, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and the Primary Health Care Development Agency (PHCDA) to liaise with the hierarchy of the Kaduna State Ministry of Health and other states for massive vaccines against the disease. 

Also, the Senate called for intensify search for active cases of diphtheria with contact tracing, risk communication activities and movement of affected cases to health facilities for management.

The Senator also mandated the Federal Ministry of Health to liaise with the Kaduna State Ministry of Health with a view to moving health workers to the affected areas and also intensifying surveillance activities across the 23 LGAs of Kaduna State and neighboring states of Kano, Plateau and Nasarawa State. 

“The ministry of health should carry out immunization across the country and the executive should fully fund all research institutions and agencies involved in vaccine production,” the Senate said. 

Contributing to the debate, Sen Ibrahim Khalid (PDP Kaduna North), who seconded to Katung’s motion, added that the disease was dangerous and deadly.

Khalid said the spread of the disease is wider now adding that instead of focusing on the five local governments that are affected, the government should look at a holistic approach.

The lawmaker said Jama’a and Makarfi LGAs are border towns with Kano, Katsina while Jama’a LGA shared borders with Nasarawa and Plateau state adding that if the disease is contained in these communities, it will help stop the loss of lives. 

Also, Tony Nwoye (LP Anambra North) said the disease is very infectious and dangerous which look like Ebola and COVID-19. 

He said the bacteria is very stubborn, adding that the government must provide the vaccine immediately. 

Also, Darlington Nwokocha (Abia Central) said the motion is a wake up call adding that as the budget is coming, they must look at the health Sector critically. 

On his part, Sen Diket Plang (Plateau Central) said the nature of the disease is very dangerous adding that the season is a season where people interact adding that the disease can be spread through contact. 

The Senate President Goodwill Akpabio, who thanked Katung for bringing the motion, added that it will save lives and help the country from going into pandemic. 

“This one has a preventable solution. Everyone should be up and doing so that this disease do not reach a pandemic level,” Akpabio added