Tuesday, September 1, 2026 - No less than 11 people have reportedly died following an outbreak of diphtheria in Niger state.
Meanwhile, 17 lives have been confirmed lost out of the 124
established cases recorded between January and early August, 2026.
According to Punch, the deaths which were recorded in
the last few days occured in Chanchaga and Katcha local government areas of the
state.
It was also learnt that 74 patients were treated and
discharged from focal areas of Bida and Agaie local government Areas, alongside
surveillance in Suleja LGA
The Executive Director, of the Niger State Primary Health
Care Development Agency, Dr. Junaidu Inuwa who made this disclosure on Friday
blamed the casualty rate on parents and guardians who, he said, have denied
their children access to vaccinations.
At a Two-Day capacity building workshop on Strengthening
Ward Development Committees on Community Engagement and Accountability to
Affected Population in Minna organised by the State Niger State Primary Health
Care Development Agency in collaboration with United Nations Children’s Fund,
Dr. Inuwa explained that the goal is to ensure that community structures are
adequately engaged, empowered, and are adequately educated for prevention of
diseases
He noted, “Most parents are not immunizing their children
and the community structure needs to do a lot for us.
“I am sure most of you are aware that recently we have an
outbreak of some diseases in Chanchaga and Katcha LGAs. There are 10 cases and
all of them died.
We even lost another patient on Tuesday at the General
Hospital, Minna,” he lamented.
Dr. Inuwa appealed to the women to prioritise early child
education and charged them to encourage nursing mothers to take their children
for Immunization.
The Social and Behavioural Change Specialist of the United
Nations Child Education Fund, Kaduna Field Office, Ibrahim Mohammed, in his
remarks, said the main aim of the capacity-building was to strengthen their
capacity to be able to provide health, wash, nutrition, child protection, and
education to the citizens.
“We are looking at an integrative approach to healthcare
services across the community,” he stated.
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