The House of Representatives of the House of Representatives on Wednesday assigned to the Federal Ministry of Health, the Nigerian Center for Disease Control (NCDC) and the National Agency for the Development of Medical Care (NHCDA) to enforce immunization, tests and mandatory treatment of diphtheria in medical care centers in the 774 areas of the local government.
The resolution was approved by the sequel to the adoption of a motion on the “need to mitigate the spread of diphtheria: a great public health concern in Nigeria to save lives”, sponsored by Hon. Kwamoti Laori, who requested the intervention of the house.
In its main debate, the Hon. Laori said that diphtheria, a bacterial infection caused by the species of Corynebacterium, has become a critical public health problem since the first outbreak in Borno in 2011 was charged 21 lives.
“The current outbreak raises significant threats for the public health system already overloaded by Nigeria.
“The house also notes that the diphtheria, which affects the nose, the throat, the skin and, in severe cases, the heart, is transmitted through respiratory drops, contaminated objects and crowded unsafe environments, which makes their propagation particularly fast between children and those with immune systems committed in crowded communities.
“The house is aware that diphtheria thrives in Africa due to low vaccination rates, while it remains virtually absent in countries such as the United States of America and Europe, where vaccination coverage is high.
“Therefore, diphtheria threatens mainly unaccoured people who travel internationally or come into contact with infected people.
“The Chamber is also aware that in Africa, nations such as Niger, Gabón and Mauritania have reported outbreaks with only a handful of confirmed deaths due to effective vaccination coverage, early detection, laboratory confirmation and the availability of antitoxins and antibiotics for treatment. In contrast, Nigeria statistics paint an image by delays, with thousands of cases reported casualties of the skillful of the decline.
“The house is alarmed that from May 2022 to February 2025, Nigeria has reported 41,978 suspicious cases of Dipteria de Bauchi, Born 19.7% of the 19. 1,279 deaths within this period.
“The house is concerned that if nothing is done, the mortality rate for cases could worsen and spread outside the states already affected, which underlines the urgency of improving the low vaccination rates, antitoxins and ineffective treatments, and delays in clinical detection and confirmation of tests that drive this outbreak.”
To this end, the Chamber commissioned the Federal Information Ministry and national orientation to increase public awareness through awareness campaigns with respect to hazards, symptoms and modes of diphtheria transmission to avoid greater propagation and deaths.
Concerned about development, the Chamber ordered the joint committees of health and health institutions to evaluate the level of compliance with the mandatory immunization of diphtheria, the ability of health institutions to effectively respond to the current threat of differia throughout the country and inform in four weeks to obtain more legislative measures.
Therefore, the Chamber ordered its legislative compliance committee to guarantee compliance.
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