Niger Records 11 More Diphtheria Deaths as Outbreak Spreads in 2 LGAs

By Daniel Ebi, Minna.

No fewer than 11 persons have died in the past few days following an outbreak of diphtheria in Chanchaga( Minna) and Katcha Local Government Areas of Niger State.

The latest fatalities bring the total number of deaths recorded from the disease in the state to 17 out of 124 confirmed cases reported between January and early August.

The Executive Director of the Niger State Primary Health Care Development Agency (NSPHCDA), Junaidu Inuwa, disclosed this in Minna while speaking at a two-day capacity-building workshop on Strengthening Ward Development Committees (WDCs) on Community Engagement and Accountability to Affected Population (AAP).

The workshop was organized by the NSPHCDA in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Inuwa said 74 patients had so far been treated and discharged from focal areas in Bida and Agaie Local Government Areas, while surveillance activities were ongoing in Suleja LGA.

He attributed the high fatality rate to poor uptake of routine immunisation among children, particularly the refusal or failure of some parents and guardians to have their children vaccinated.

According to him, stronger community involvement was urgently required to prevent further spread of the disease and other vaccine-preventable illnesses.

“Most parents are not immunising their children, and the community structure needs to do a lot for us,” he said.

The agency’s chief executive disclosed that the state had recently recorded a worrying outbreak in Chanchaga and Katcha, with 10 confirmed cases reported in the affected areas and all the patients dying.

“We even lost another patient on Tuesday at the General Hospital, Minna,” he added.

Inuwa therefore appealed to members of the Ward Development Committees to intensify community mobilisation and sensitisation, particularly among women and mothers, on the importance of routine immunisation and early healthcare-seeking.

He urged the WDCs to make child health education a priority, stressing that community-level structures have a critical role to play in disease prevention, early detection and referral.

Also speaking, the Social and Behavioural Change Specialist with the UNICEF Kaduna Field Office, Ibrahim Mohammed,

said the capacity-building programme was designed to strengthen the ability of WDCs to engage communities effectively in health and other essential services.

Mohammed said the training covered areas including health, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), nutrition, child protection and education.

According to him, the objective was to promote an integrated approach to healthcare delivery in which community structures would actively participate in identifying health challenges, mobilising residents and ensuring accountability.

“We are looking at an integrative approach to healthcare services across the community,” he said.

The participants were expected to take the knowledge acquired from the workshop back to their respective communities and strengthen grassroots mobilisation, particularly on immunisation, disease prevention and access to essential health services.

Health authorities have continued to urge parents and caregivers to ensure that eligible children receive routine vaccinations, while calling for prompt medical attention whenever symptoms suggestive of diphtheria or other infectious diseases are observed.