FG deploys 500,000 Diphtheria vaccine doses to Kano, Katsina

The Federal Government has deployed 500,000 doses of diphtheria vaccines to Kano and Katsina states as part of emergency measures to contain an outbreak of the disease.

The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare disclosed this in a statement issued on Friday, saying the vaccines were deployed through the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) to support intensified immunisation in affected communities and other areas considered to be at risk.

According to the ministry, the intervention forms part of an emergency response activated by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, aimed at containing the outbreak and strengthening Nigeria’s overall response to diphtheria.

As part of the response, the Federal Government has also set up a multi-agency emergency task force comprising the NPHCDA, affected state governments and international health partners.

The task force will be co-chaired by the Director-General of the NCDC and the Director of Public Health. Its membership includes the commissioners of health from Katsina, Kano, Zamfara and Sokoto states, as well as 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 investigate the outbreak, strengthen surveillance, and intensify public awareness and vaccination campaigns, with particular attention to children who have not received routine immunisation.

“The response is aimed at closing existing population immunity gaps and preventing further spread of the disease,” the statement said.

In addition to the vaccination efforts, the Federal Government said it was expanding access to treatment for diphtheria patients in Katsina State in collaboration with the state government.

It said plans were underway to establish treatment annexes in hospitals across the state’s three senatorial districts of Katsina, Daura and Funtua.