Nigeria is currently experiencing an unprecedented diphtheria outbreak, with around 17.000 suspected cases and close to 600 deaths recorded.
A vaccination campaign organized by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF has started and will be carried out in 3 phases across 14 states: Katsina, Bauchi, Borno, FCT, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Yobe, Lagos, Nasarawa, Osun, Plateau, Zamfara.
In Kano State, where almost 12.000 suspected cases have been reported, around 70% of the patients admitted to MSF facilities were not fully vaccinated or vaccinated at all, showing alarmingly low vaccination coverage.
In the North-West, full vaccination coverage is of high concern, ranging from 6% in Sokoto to 10% in Zamfara and 18% in Katsina, against a national average of 36%.
In the North-East the coverage is seemingly alarming, as only 15% of the patients treated for diphtheria in Gwange Paediatric Hospital in Maiduguri were fully vaccinated.
Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) doctors without borders, working with the WHO and UNICEF encouraged efforts from international and national bodies,
MSF said, “We wish to continue calling and urging for long-term plans of routine immunization across the different states and local government areas of Nigeria to reach a maximum of children. It is the only lasting solution to curb and prevent future outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases such as diphtheria, measles, polio, or tetanus that are responsible for numerous deaths every year.