More than 50 children have reportedly died from a diphtheria outbreak in Rano Local Government Area of Kano State, prompting the state House of Assembly to call for urgent government intervention.
The lawmakers raised the alarm during Monday’s plenary after the member representing Rano Constituency, Ibrahim Muhammad, moved a motion of urgent public importance.
Muhammad said the outbreak had become particularly severe in the Ridin and Sabuwar Kaura communities, where more than 50 children had reportedly died.
He said although the government had taken some emergency measures, including purchasing medication and deploying health workers to the affected communities, more intervention was needed to contain the disease.
Muhammad urged Governor Abba Yusuf and the state Commissioner for Health to provide additional emergency assistance to the affected communities.
He also expressed concern that the outbreak had resurfaced after a similar incident claimed several lives in the area last year.
Supporting the motion, the lawmaker representing Kiru Constituency, Usman Abubakar Tasiu, said the outbreak had spread beyond Rano to parts of Kiru Local Government Area, including Kwarin Dangora, Dangora town and Yelwa.
Tasiu said an APC youth leader in Kiru town lost two children to the disease within a single day.
He called for the establishment of an emergency committee to coordinate the response across the affected local government areas, including Rano, Tudun Wada, Kibiya, Bunkure, Bebeji and Kiru.
Another lawmaker, Saleh Ahmad, who represents Dawakin Tofa Constituency, urged the government to intensify vaccination and other preventive measures.
Ahmad warned that diphtheria is contagious and could spread rapidly to neighbouring communities if urgent steps were not taken.
The Majority Leader of the House, Lawan Husseini, called on the state government to invoke the state’s Health Protection Law to tackle the outbreak.
According to him, the law empowers the government to provide emergency relief and free healthcare, as well as isolate affected areas and restrict movement where necessary during outbreaks of infectious diseases.
The House subsequently approved the motion and directed its Committee on Health to engage the Ministry of Health on the implementation of the law and the provision of emergency relief to affected communities.
The reported deaths come amid continuing concerns over the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases in parts of Nigeria, underscoring the need for rapid vaccination, disease surveillance and access to treatment in affected communities.
