By Juliet Jacob Ochenje
In a bid to combat the resurgence of diphtheria cases in Nigeria, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced that it will be providing 1,800 vials of Diphtheria Antitoxin to the country.
This lifesaving intervention comes as Nigeria faces a concerning increase in diphtheria-related fatalities.
WHO Country Representative, Dr Walter Kazadi revealed this during a media briefing held in Abuja on the update of the Diphtheria outbreak in Nigeria.
The Nigeria Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) has also raised concerns about the persistence of unvaccinated children, despite the availability of vaccines in the country’s routine immimmunisation schedule.
Also speaking during the media briefing, the Executive Director of the NPHCDA, Dr. Faisal Shuaib, emphasised the importance of ensuring widespread immunisation coverage to safeguard public health and protect vulnerable populations from preventable diseases like diphtheria.
According to the WHO, the alarming mortality rate is primarily attributed to the emergence of resistance to the current diphtheria vaccine.
Shuaib said the agency will be leveraging surveillance data from NCDC and direct information from the states to ensure effective planning and resource deployment to ensure adequate supplies of Tetanus Td for children 4 to 14 years and Pentavalent vaccines for children under 4 years.
According to him, the response plan will be carried out in two phases, Phase 1, will cover 25 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in four states and is scheduled to commence on August 7, 2023, while Phase 2 will involve a state-wide outbreak response in six states and targeted outbreak responses in LGAs across eight states, starting from August 21, 2023.
He noted that the outbreak has seen an estimated 2,455 suspected cases reported in 26 states from May 2022 to July 2023, with 836 confirmed cases and 83 deaths reported across eight states, with children being the most vulnerable group.
