By Ankeli Emmanuel (In Sokoto State)
The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) Chief of Field Office in Kano State, Dr Rahama Farah, has advised that all hands must urgently be on the desk towards halting the escalation of diphtheria disease.
Farah who spoke on Tuesday in Kano at a one day media orientation on the "Outbreak of Diphtheria", organized by the Child Rights Information Bureau (CRIB) of the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture in collaboration with UNICEF, further decried that the surge in Diphtheria is currently alarmingly and quite disturbing.
Farah said, "Recently, we have seen a surge in the number of reported cases of Diphtheria in Nigeria, and Nigeria is currently facing an outbreak of Diphtheria that needs to be stopped and prevented. Diphtheria is a highly contagious, infectious disease that can cause death. The outbreak needs to be urgently stopped, controlled and prevented from spreading"'.
While noting that UNICEF will continue to provide the requisite technical and financial support to the Nigerian government towards halting diphtheria, Dr Farah said Kano State accounts for the highest number so far since the Diphtheria outbreak in Nigeria in 2022.
Advising that the issue of children immunization and particularly the important issue of zero dose LGAs, must be addressed to help halt the spread, Dr Farah confirmed that 11 people died of the outbreak of the disease and over 400 suspected cases were reported in Kano state within last week.
"So far, the highest number of cases of Diphtheria are reported from Kano state. For example, out of the 44 LGAs of Kano state, the Diphtheria disease has spread to 39 LGAs. Since January 2023, Kano state has reported over 5,800 cumulative cases of Diphtheria in the state. Although there was a decline in reported cases in June, however, as of July 2023, these Diphtheria cases have been on the rise. "Eight LGAs are the most affected: They are: Ungogo (2651), Dala (989), Fagge (943), Gwale (714), Kumbotso (713), Nassarawa (538), Kano Municipal (506) and Tarauni (269). It is very important to understand that the analysis of the vaccination status of the suspected cases shows that 60.8 % of all suspected cases are children who were not vaccinated".
In his submission, Dr Farah appealed to the media to help in community engagement towards halting the spread of Diphtheria disease.
On his part, the Director General of Kano State Primary Healthcare Management Board, Dr Muhammed Nasir, affirmed that the state currently accounts for over 80 percent of the outbreak in Nigeria.
Dr Nasir who noted that "over 90 percent of those affected are children of between 14 years down, he said government is doing all within it's powers to halt the outbreak, and advised that a fully vaccinated child will not be infected with Diphtheria.
On why the media engagement was necessary, Mr Rajat Madhok, UNICEF Nigeria Chief Communication, Advocacy and Partnership, said the government and United Nations (UN) have the modest responsibility to give timely information to the media.
This according to him is because the media helps in addressing misinformation and disinformation hence dispelling myths.
In his presentation on Diptheteria Outbreak and how ethically the media can engage with affected communities and remain accountable to them, Dr Ogu Enmaku, the UNICEF SBC specialist, appealed to the media to give information that will make people have informed decision, access to safe and responsive mechanisms, provide feedback, protect and promote the rights of people to enhance their dignity, capacities and resilience.
Talking on Diphtheria Vacine Safety and Efficacy, Dr Serekeberehan Deres, UNICEF Health Manager in Kano Office, says it is transmitted through droplets, cough, sneezing and touching sores of an infected persons. He also listed the symptoms to include fever, chills, soar throat, weakness, thick grey membrane swollen glands, difficulty in breathing or rapid breathing.
Dr Deres who appealed to all to embrace vaccination, added that, "to prevent any outbreak, vaccination must reach 80 percent". NNL.
