House of Reps Don Tell FG Say Make Dem Do Mandatory Diphtheria Vaccination, Test and Treatment for All 774 LGAs
As diphtheria wahala dey increase, House of Representatives don call Federal Government agencies make dem do compulsory vaccination, testing and treatment for Nigerians wey get the sickness for all the 774 local government areas for the country.
This decision happen after dem adopt one motion of urgent public matter wey Honourable Bitrus Laori, wey represent Demsa/Numan/Lamurde for Adamawa State, raise during plenary on Wednesday.
Diphtheria na one dangerous bacteria infection wey dey caused by Corynebacterium, and e don become big public health wahala since the first outbreak for Borno State in 2011 wey kill 21 people. This recent outbreak don come back strong and e dey threaten Nigeria health system wey don already dey under pressure.
This disease dey affect nose, throat, skin and sometimes even the heart. E dey spread fast through cough, sneeze, dirty environment, contaminated things, and e dey affect children and people wey get weak immune system pass.
Wetin Hon. Laori Talk
Hon. Laori, wey be PDP member, talk say diphtheria dey spread for Africa because of low vaccination, unlike places like America and Europe wey their people dey well vaccinated.
E still talk say the sickness dey worry people wey never take vaccine, especially those wey dey travel or get contact with people wey don get the disease.
E talk say:
“House know say some African countries like Niger, Gabon and Mauritania don report cases but dem no too lose people because their vaccine coverage dey strong and dem get better lab test, treatment, and quick response. But Nigeria own na different case – we get plenty confirmed cases and deaths because vaccine no reach or e no even dey.”
Wetin Dey Happen for Nigeria
From May 2022 to February 2025, Nigeria don report 41,978 suspected cases of diphtheria from places like Bauchi, Borno, Jigawa, Kaduna, Katsina, Kano and Yobe.
- Kano alone get 24,062 cases,
- Yobe get 5,330 cases,
- Most of the people wey get am na children between 1 to 14 years,
- Only 19.7% of dem don take full vaccination
- And about 1,279 people don die within that period.
Laori talk say if government no act fast, the matter go worsen and fit spread to other states. E say we need to boost vaccination, make treatment dey available, and make testing quick to stop the spread.
Wetin The House Decide
After everybody support the motion, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas lead the House to take these decisions:
- Federal Ministry of Health, NCDC, and National Primary Health Care Development Agency must do mandatory diphtheria immunisation, testing and treatment for all the 774 LGAs.
- Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation must run public awareness and sensitisation campaign to teach people about the danger, signs and how diphtheria dey spread, to reduce death and infection.
- House Committee on Health go check how the vaccination and treatment dey go, whether health centres dey ready to face the diphtheria matter, and report back in four weeks for further action.
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