KANO ASSEMBLY RAISES ALARM OVER DIPHTHERIA OUTBREAK, 50 CHILDREN REPORTED DEAD
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By: Balogun Ibrahim
The Kano State House of Assembly has urged Governor Abba Yusuf to take immediate action to contain a diphtheria outbreak in Rano Local Government Area, where more than 50 children have reportedly died from the disease.
The call followed a motion of urgent public importance raised by the lawmaker representing Rano Constituency, Ibrahim Muhammad, during Monday’s plenary presided over by Speaker Ismail Falgore.
Presenting the motion, Muhammad said the outbreak had hit the Ridin and Sabuwar Kaura communities particularly hard, with the death toll reportedly exceeding 50 children.
He noted that although emergency measures had already been introduced, including the procurement of medication and deployment of healthcare workers to affected communities, additional intervention was urgently required to prevent further spread of the disease.
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Muhammad appealed to the governor and the Commissioner for Health to provide more emergency assistance to the affected areas, warning that the outbreak had become increasingly severe.
He also expressed concern that the disease had resurfaced after a similar outbreak claimed several lives in the area last year.
Supporting the motion, the member representing Kiru Constituency, Usman Abubakar Tasiu, said the outbreak had spread to parts of Kiru, including Kwarin Dangora, Dangora town and Yelwa.
Tasiu revealed that an APC youth leader in Kiru lost two children to the disease within a single day.
He called for the establishment of an emergency committee to coordinate efforts to contain the outbreak in affected local government areas, including Rano, Tudun Wada, Kibiya, Bunkure, Bebeji and Kiru.
Another lawmaker, Saleh Ahmad, representing Dawakin Tofa Constituency, urged the state government to intensify vaccination campaigns and other preventive measures, stressing that diphtheria is highly contagious and could quickly spread to neighbouring communities.
The Majority Leader of the House, Lawan Husseini, called on the government to invoke the state’s Health Protection Law to tackle the outbreak.
He explained that the law empowers the government to provide emergency relief and free medical care, while also allowing authorities to isolate affected persons and restrict movement in areas hit by infectious diseases.
The House subsequently adopted the motion and directed its Committee on Health to engage the Ministry of Health on measures to implement the law and provide emergency assistance to affected communities.
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