Victoria Ogunrinde
The European Union (EU) Delegation to Nigeria has donated One Million euros (N847 million) to combat the spread of diphtheria epidemic and assist the most affected communities in Nigeria.
According to a statement released in Abuja by the EU on Tuesday, the €1million humanitarian funding came in addition to €150,000 which the EU allocated to the Disaster Response Emergency Fund of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in March 2023 to help control the epidemic.
With this EU funding, UNICEF and the medical non-governmental organization, ALIMA, will be able to support frontline health services with staff and technical assistance to improve surveillance and case detection, treat cases, raise community awareness, and help with vaccine procurement.
“Nigeria is currently facing the world’s second-largest diphtheria outbreak with 10,322 confirmed and 16,616 suspected cases since the beginning of the year.
“Kano State represents the outbreak’s epicenter with 8,447 confirmed cases and 589 deaths. The most affected states are Kano, Yobe, Katsina, Borno, Bauchi, and Kaduna which collectively account for 96 percent of all suspected cases.
“In spite of control efforts since the start of the outbreak in late 2022, the disease has gradually spread to other states in the Northwest and Northeast regions.
“Children aged 1 to 14 years are the most affected and they represent 72 per cent of all confirmed cases. Analysis of the vaccination status reveals that over 60 percent of all suspected cases have not been vaccinated”.
“This funding is part of the EU’s Epidemics tool, created to provide rapid funding in case of a disease outbreak. Diphtheria is a highly contagious bacterial infection transmitted between humans.
“It causes an infection of the upper respiratory tract, which can lead to breathing difficulties and suffocation. Those most at risk are children and people who have not been fully vaccinated against the disease,” the statement explained.
