LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) – The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) says Nigeria has recorded 83 deaths and 836 confirmed cases of diphtheria so far.
Executive Director, NPHCDA, Faisal Shuaib made the disclosure in Abuja during a news briefing on the diphtheria outbreak response.
“From May 2022 to July 2023, an estimated 2,455 suspected cases have been reported in 26 states.
“As of July 27, 2023, 836 of these cases have been confirmed in 33 Local Government Areas across eight states: Cross River, Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Lagos, Osun, Yobe, and FCT.
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“Tragically, 83 deaths have been reported from these confirmed cases, making vaccination against this deadly disease critically important, especially for our children,” he said.
According to Shuaib, despite the efforts of the Federal Government to provide safe and cost-effective vaccines for diphtheria, a significant number of children remain unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, thereby compromising the country’s goal of achieving population immunity.
He said the response to the ongoing diphtheria outbreak would be carried out in two phases.
The first phase (1) and immediate response would encompass 25 Local Government Areas across Bauchi, Katsina, Yobe and Kaduna States.
He said this phase would begin on 7 and end 11 August.
The second phase, he noted, would cover outbreak response in 171 Local Government Areas.
He said Kano, Katsina, FCT, Yobe, Kaduna, and Bauchi States would have a state-wide outbreak response; while there would be targeted outbreak responses in LGAs across Jigawa, Borno, Osun, Lagos, Zamfara, Gombe, Plateau and Nasarawa.
“This phase is planned to be conducted in three rounds. The first round will commence on 21st August 2023, followed by the second and third rounds tentatively set for 18 September and 16 October, respectively. Each of these three rounds will span five days,” he added.