By Akanji Alowoludo, Bauchi
UNICEF Nigeria has lamented that diphtheria outbreak has so far tragically claimed 122 lives, with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 8.7%.
It therefore declared that it is amplifying its efforts to counter a growing outbreak of diphtheria that has affected children in 27 states stating that as of July 2023, 3,850 suspected cases were reported with 1,387 confirmed as diphtheria.
The outbreak has affected mainly Kano, Yobe, Katsina, Lagos, FCT, Sokoto, and Zamfara, which account for 98.0% of the suspected cases while most confirmed cases, approximately 71.5%, have occurred among children aged 2 – 14 years.
UNICEF Nigeria Country Representative, Dr Cristian Munduate in a statement made available to Journalists in Bauchi on Friday lamented that, “It’s heartbreaking to note that only 22 % of the confirmed cases received their routine childhood immunization vaccinations,”
According to her, “Most of these affected children, especially those who unfortunately passed away, had not received a single dose of the vaccine. The need to reach the unreached has never been more critical.”
She however said that, “In response to the outbreak, UNICEF is closely collaborating with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the affected States and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), providing technical support to plan and operationalize the response. UNICEF’s commitment extends to several key interventions.”
The interventions include: Planning, implementing, and funding risk communication and community engagement activities and Transporting vaccines and related equipment to the affected states and strengthening routine immunization.
It also include Training health workers and volunteers for service delivery, risk communication, and community engagement; Supervising outbreak response activities; Procuring and supplying face masks, hand sanitizers, and antibiotics to treat diphtheria and Supplying Laboratory consumables and biosafety cabinets for testing of suspected cases at the NCDC.
Cristian Munduate emphasized the pressing need to reach children who had missed out on their vaccines due to the COVID-19 lockdown.
She said that, “Many children did not receive their vaccines during the COVID-19 lockdown,” she said. “We now urgently need to catch up. These ‘zero-dose’ children, those who haven’t received a single dose of vaccine, are a primary concern.”
In light of these sobering statistics, UNICEF Nigeria urged all parents and guardians to ensure their children receive routine immunizations to protect them from preventable diseases like diphtheria.
The agency will continue to intensify efforts to address the ongoing outbreak and work alongside the government to achieve a healthier, safer future for every Nigerian child.
