Kano Diphtheria Outbreak Claims Over 50 Children, Assembly Raises Alarm

By Abdullahi yakub ✔

Kano Diphtheria Outbreak Claims Over 50 Children, Assembly Raises Alarm

The Kano State House of Assembly has called for urgent intervention by the state government following a diphtheria outbreak that has reportedly claimed the lives of more than 50 children in Rano Local Government Area of the state.

The lawmakers raised the alarm during a plenary session after the member representing Rano Constituency, Ibrahim Muhammad, moved a motion of urgent public importance on the growing health crisis. Muhammad said the outbreak had hit the affected communities heavily, particularly Ridin and Sabuwar Qaura, where more than 50 children were reported to have died.

According to him, emergency measures had already been taken by relevant authorities, including the purchase of medication and the deployment of health workers to affected communities. However, he said additional intervention was urgently needed to contain the outbreak and prevent further loss of lives.

The lawmaker appealed to Governor Abba Yusuf and the Kano State Commissioner for Health to provide more emergency support to the affected communities. He also expressed concern that the outbreak had returned after a similar incident reportedly claimed several lives in the area last year.

The situation may be spreading beyond Rano, as the member representing Kiru Constituency, Usman Abubakar Tasiu, told the Assembly that cases had also been reported in Kwarin Dangora, Dangora town and Yelwa in Kiru Local Government Area. He disclosed that an APC youth leader in Kiru lost two children to the disease within a single day.

Tasiu called for the establishment of an emergency committee to coordinate efforts aimed at tackling the outbreak across affected and vulnerable local government areas, including Rano, Tudun Wada, Kibiya, Bunkure, Bebeji and Kiru.

Another lawmaker, Saleh Ahmad, who represents Dawakin Tofa Constituency, urged the state government to intensify vaccination and other preventive measures, warning that diphtheria is highly contagious and could spread rapidly to neighbouring communities if urgent action was not taken.

The Majority Leader of the House, Lawan Husseini, also called on the government to invoke the state’s Health Protection Law to strengthen the emergency response. 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 the affected communities.

Source: Punch Newspaper