The Federal Government has activated an emergency task force to contain the outbreak of diphtheria among children in parts of Katsina and Kano States, with immediate measures being deployed to strengthen surveillance, close immunisation gaps and ensure timely access to treatment.
The directive was issued by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, as part of the Federal Government’s continuing commitment to protect the health of Nigerian children and strengthen the country’s capacity to prevent and respond to disease outbreaks.
The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, working with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), affected state governments and international health partners, has constituted a multi-agency task force to coordinate the response.
The task force will be co-chaired by the Director-General of NCDC and the Director of Public Health, with membership drawn from NPHCDA; the Honourable Commissioners for Health of Katsina, Kano, Zamfara and Sokoto States; the World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF; and the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme in Katsina State. The Ministry’s Chief Epidemiologist will serve as Secretary.
The task force has been directed to act immediately on three fronts:
- Outbreak containment and immunisation: Conduct outbreak investigations, strengthen disease surveillance and intensify community sensitisation to close population immunity gaps through the immunisation of unvaccinated children. As part of the immediate response, NPHCDA has deployed 500,000 doses of vaccines to Katsina and Kano States to support intensified immunisation activities in affected and at-risk communities.
- Expanded access to treatment: Work with the Katsina State Government to establish treatment annexes in hospitals across the state’s three senatorial districts — Katsina, Daura and Funtua — to bring care closer to affected communities and facilitate early intervention.
- Emergency support for referral care: Mobilise urgent support to the Federal Teaching Hospital, Katsina, the principal referral centre for the state and parts of neighbouring states, including Diphtheria Antitoxin (DAT), intravenous antibiotics, additional clinical personnel and personal protective equipment (PPE).
The task force will provide weekly updates to the Coordinating Minister on progress, emerging challenges and additional requirements, with identified bottlenecks escalated for immediate resolution.
The Federal Government reaffirms its resolve to protect Nigerian children from vaccine-preventable diseases and remains committed to a swift, coordinated and evidence-based response to bring the outbreak under control.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Federal Ministry of Health & Social Welfare, Nigeria.
