Benue Confirms 16 Deaths, 63 Lassa Fever Cases

Benue State commissioner for health and human services, Dr Yanmar Ortese, has said 820 suspected cases of Lassa fever were received out of which 63 tested positive, 16 died and two on admission.

Ortese, who disclosed this during a press briefing in Makurdi to mark the 2024 World Health Day appealed to the federal government to establish a disease control centre in the state to fast-track the treatment of infected persons.

He said, “This year’s theme, ‘My Health, My Right’ reminded us of our collective responsibility to ensure the wellbeing of every citizen because health is a right, not a privilege and our administration is dedicated to upholding this truth for every Benue resident.”

He said over 5,550 vulnerable households across 276 council wards of the state, including internally displaced persons (IDPs) have been enrolled in the State Health Insurance Scheme under the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund to ensure that the right to health is not hindered by the citizen’s economic status.

The commissioner lamented that the state has experienced multiple disease outbreaks, which include Lassa fever, measles, buruli ulcer among other diseases, and that currently they are responding to the largest fever outbreak in the history of the state, saying, “Our response capabilities are stretched hence the need for a functional state-of-the-art public health molecular laboratory in the state to enhance our disease surveillance and response capabilities.”

“We are calling upon all our stakeholders across all sectors of the government, international partners, private sector and civil society to join us in consolidating our efforts to strengthen our health system to cope with the ever-increasing needs of our large population. There is every need to also strengthen our primary health care system with the provision of the appropriate infrastructure and human resources needed to make health accessible and affordable for everyone,” he said.

In his remarks, the state coordinator, World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Mohammed Abdulkarim, assured that the organisation in partnership with the State Ministry of Health and Human Services would ensure quality and affordable health for the people of the state.

Abdulkarim further disclosed that due to the frantic efforts made by WHO in the health sector more mothers and children were surviving than before.

“From 2000 to 2020, the life expectancy of African women increased from 54 to 67 years. The maternal mortality ratio decreased by 33 percent from 788 to 531 maternal deaths per 100,000 lives.

“The number of children dying before the age of five has also reduced by 50 per cent from 2000 to 2017,” Abdulkarim stated.