11 DEAD AS DIPHTHERIA OUTBREAK HITS NIGER STATE LGAs

At least eleven people have been confirmed dead following a recent outbreak of diphtheria in the Chanchaga and Katcha Local Government Areas of Niger State.

This recent spike adds to the 17 fatalities recorded out of 124 confirmed cases between January and early August.

Meanwhile, 74 patients have been successfully treated and discharged from the focal areas of Bida and Agaie Local Government Areas, even as active health surveillance continues in Suleja.

Dr. Junaidu Inuwa, the Executive Director of the Niger State Primary Health Care Development Agency, attributed the high casualty rate to parents and guardians refusing to vaccinate their children.

Speaking in Minna at a two-day capacity-building workshop on “Strengthening Ward Development Committees (WDCs) on Community Engagement and Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP),” Dr. Inuwa emphasized that the goal is to ensure community structures are adequately engaged, empowered, and educated on disease prevention.

The workshop was organized by the agency in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).”Most parents are not immunizing their children, and our community structures need to do a lot more for us,” Dr. Inuwa stated.

“I am sure most of you are aware that we recently had an outbreak of diseases in Chanchaga and Katcha LGAs. There were 10 cases, and all of them died.

We even lost another patient on Tuesday at the General Hospital, Minna.”Dr. Inuwa appealed to the WDCs to prioritize early childhood education and urged them to actively encourage mothers to take their children for routine immunization.Also speaking at the event, Ibrahim Mohammed, a Social and Behavioural Change Specialist with the UNICEF Kaduna Field Office, noted that the main objective of the training was to strengthen the committees’ capacity to deliver health, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), nutrition, child protection, and education services.

According to Mohammed, “We are looking at an integrated approach to healthcare services across the community.”