*Deploys 9.3m doses of diphtheria vaccines to Kano, Bauchi, Borno, Yobe, Katsina, Kaduna, Jigawa
By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan
The UNICEF representative in Nigeria, Dr. Rownak Khan on Wednesday, raised the alarm over the outbreak of severe Diphtheria, particularly among the children in Nigeria.
UNICEF Nigeria in a statement made available to journalists, called for urgent need for widespread vaccination to curb the spread of the outbreak.
According to Dr Khan, ” the outbreak has so far resulted in over 11,500 suspected cases, more than 7,000 confirmed cases, and claimed the lives of 453 people, mostly children.
It stressed that, ” most cases are children aged between 4 to 15 years who have not received even a single dose of the vital vaccine, laying bare the urgency of the vaccination situation in Nigeria.
” UNICEF is providing urgent support to the Nigerian government in its efforts to combat the outbreak. A crucial part of this support includes the procurement of vaccines to support the government’s response”.
Dr Khan added, ” So far, on behalf of the government, UNICEF has deployed 9.3 million doses of diphtheria vaccines to affected states including Kano, Bauchi, Borno, Yobe, Katsina, Kaduna and Jigawa.
” Of these, four million doses have been dispatched to Kano, the epicentre of the outbreak. Another four million doses of vaccines are being procured and will be handed over to government in the coming weeks.”
He stressed further, “The devastating impact of this diphtheria outbreak is a grim reminder of the importance of vaccination. Nigeria is home to a staggering 2.2 million children who haven’t received even a single dose of vaccine – the second largest such cohort in the world.
” We must collectively take urgent actions to drastically reduce this number. Every child deserves protection from preventable diseases. This is not negotiable”.
UNICEF Nigeria then called on partners, stakeholders, and the international community to rally together to ensure that every child in Nigeria is reached with life-saving vaccine, emphasizing the importance of strengthening routine immunization, community engagement, and health systems to avoid similar outbreaks in the future.
He maintained that, “to respond effectively to the outbreak, UNICEF Nigeria needs to raise an additional US$ 3.3 million until the end of the year”.
