Kano State Launches Special Committee to Contain Diphtheria Outbreak
核心洞察
The Kano State Government has constituted a Special Committee on Diphtheria (搜索) Outbreak Response to contain reported cases and deaths, particularly in Rano Local Government Area.
The committee, chaired by KNCDC Director-General Prof. Muhammad Adamu Abbas, will verify cases, strengthen surveillance, and ensure daily reporting across affected areas.
Lawmakers raised alarm over the outbreak, with reports citing 50 child deaths and calls to invoke the state's Health Protection Law for emergency relief and free healthcare.
The Kano State Government has constituted a Special Committee on Diphtheria (搜索) Outbreak Response to strengthen efforts to contain reported cases and deaths from the disease in some Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state, particularly Rano. The committee is expected to coordinate ongoing response activities, conduct a comprehensive assessment of the outbreak, and take immediate measures to prevent further spread to neighbouring Local Government Areas.
The move follows an alarm raised by the Kano State House of Assembly over the outbreak. According to a lawmaker, Tasiu, an All Progressives Congress youth leader in Kiru town had lost two children to the disease within one day. Tasiu called for the establishment of an emergency committee to coordinate efforts to tackle the outbreak in affected local government areas, including Rano, Tudun Wada, Kibiya, Bunkure, Bebeji and Kiru.
Another lawmaker, representing Dawakin Tofa Constituency, Saleh Ahmad, urged the state government to intensify vaccination and other preventive measures, warning that diphtheria (搜索) is contagious and could spread rapidly to neighbouring communities if urgent measures were not taken. The Majority Leader of the House, Lawan Husseini, urged the state government to invoke the state's Health Protection Law to contain the outbreak, noting that the law empowers the government to provide emergency relief and free healthcare while also allowing for the isolation of affected areas and restriction of movement where necessary during infectious disease outbreaks.
The House subsequently approved the motion and directed its Committee on Health to engage the Ministry of Health on the implementation of the law and provision of emergency relief to affected communities. The lawmakers called for immediate and coordinated action by the state government to prevent further deaths and halt the spread of the disease to other parts of Kano State.
Committee Leadership and Mandate
In a statement signed by the Public Relations Officer of the Kano State Ministry of Health, Nabilusi Abubakar Kofar Na'isa, the government said the committee is chaired by the Director-General of the Kano State Centre for Disease Control (搜索) (KNCDC), Prof. Muhammad Adamu Abbas.
The committee includes the Director-General of the State Primary Healthcare Management Board (搜索) (SPHCMB), Prof. Salisu A. Ibrahim, as a member. Other members include the Executive Secretary of the Hospitals Management Board, Dr. Mansur M. Nagoda; Director of Disease Control, SPHCMB, Dr. Tijjani Habibu; Director of Public Health, Ministry of Health, Dr. Ibrahim Aliyu Umar; and State Epidemiologist, KNCDC, Sulaiman Iliyasu Hamisu. Representatives of the Kano, Rano, Karaye and Gaya Emirate Councils are also members, while Hussaini Rufai of Monitoring and Evaluation, KNCDC, serves as Secretary.
Response Objectives
The committee has been mandated to conduct a comprehensive investigation to verify reported diphtheria (搜索) cases and deaths across affected LGAs, strengthen disease surveillance systems, and ensure daily reporting by Disease Surveillance and Notification Officers across the state.
It will also establish a centralised data registry to effectively track suspected and confirmed cases, identify immunisation gaps through intensified community mobilisation and sensitisation, and ensure the availability and timely distribution of essential medical commodities to designated treatment centres. In addition, the committee will work closely with health personnel in affected LGAs to ensure a coordinated response, rapid information sharing, early detection of cases and effective management of the outbreak.
The state government urged residents, community leaders and other stakeholders to cooperate with health authorities by promptly reporting suspected cases and supporting ongoing public health interventions. The government reassured residents of its commitment to protecting their health and wellbeing, stressing that it would continue to take all necessary measures to contain the outbreak and prevent its spread across the state.