The Kano State government, on Tuesday, said about 520 children in the state have died of diphtheria outbreak.
The Director General of Kano State Primary Healthcare Management Board, Dr. Mohammed Nasir Mahmoud disclosed this during a media dialogue organized by the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF for journalists from North-West states in Kano.
He said “there is data we generate through our disease surveillance and reporting system. And based on that report, this year, Kano has reported about 8,700 suspected cases of diphtheria and about 6,000 have been confirmed. And about 520 children suspected to have died of from illness this year alone.
“We track this record on daily basis. We believe the record is much more than what we are getting because the reporting system is not as it is should be,” he stated.
Dr. Mahmoud who noted that the state currently accounts for 80 per cent of the outbreak, however said that efforts were ongoing by the government at all levels and critical stakeholders to reverse the ugly trend and to meet the December set target to combat and bring the disease under control in the country.
Earlier in his remarks, the UNICEF’s Chief of Kano Field Office, Mr. Rahama Farah said the disease has spread to 39 out of 44 Local Government Area in the state with 8 metropolitan LGAs as the worst hit.
Farah who frowned at the worrisome situation, said the outbreak is a threat to child survival, health and the well-being of children hence the need for support and collaboration to arrest the menace.
