Federal Govt Deploys 500,000 Vaccines As Diphtheria Outbreak Hits Katsina, Kano

The federal government has deployed 500,000 doses of diphtheria vaccines to Katsina and Kano states as part of urgent measures to contain an outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease among children.

The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare disclosed this in a statement in Abuja yesterday,  stating that the vaccines were deployed by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) to support intensified immunisation activities in affected and at-risk communities.

The ministry said the deployment was part of an emergency response activated by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, to contain the outbreak and strengthen the country’s response to diphtheria.

According to the statement, the federal government has also constituted a multi-agency emergency task force comprising the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), NPHCDA, affected state governments and international health partners.

The task force which will be co-chaired by the director-general of NCDC and the director of public health, includes the health commissioners of Katsina, Kano, Zamfara and Sokoto states, representatives of the World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF and the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme in Katsina State.

The ministry said the task force had been directed to conduct outbreak investigations, strengthen disease surveillance and intensify community sensitisation and immunisation of unvaccinated children to close population immunity gaps.

Beyond vaccination, the federal government is also expanding access to treatment in Katsina State by working with the state government to establish treatment annexes in hospitals across the three senatorial districts of Katsina, Daura and Funtua, the statement further stated.

The treatment annexes, it said, would bring care closer to affected communities and facilitate early intervention for children suffering from diphtheria.