The United Nations International Children Fund (UNICEF) has revealed that the outbreak of diphtheria in Nigeria has claimed 122 lives with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 8.7%.
In a statement released by the Agency on Friday which also disclosed that as of July 2023, 3,850 suspected cases were reported with 1,387 confirmed as diphtheria.
The Agency amplified its efforts to counter the growing outbreak of diphtheria that has affected children in 27 states mainly affected Kano, Yobe, Katsina, Lagos, FCT, Sokoto, and Zamfara, which account for 98.0% of the suspected cases.
Disclosing further that most confirmed cases, approximately 71.5%, have occurred among children aged 2 – 14 years.
In response to the outbreak, UNICEF is closely collaborating with Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the affected States and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), providing technical support to plan and operationalize the response.
In light of these sobering statistics, UNICEF Nigeria urges all parents and guardians to ensure their children receive routine immunizations to protect them from preventable diseases like diphtheria.
The agency will continue to intensify efforts to address the ongoing outbreak and work alongside the government to achieve a healthier, safer future for every Nigerian child.
Reacting to this development, the UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, Ms Cristian Munduate said, “It’s heartbreaking to note that only 22 % of the confirmed cases received their routine childhood immunization vaccinations,”.
Adding that, “Most of these affected children, especially those who unfortunately passed away, had not received a single dose of the vaccine. The need to reach the unreached has never been more critical.”
Ms Munduate emphasized the pressing need to reach children who had missed out on their vaccines due to the COVID-19 lockdown. “Many children did not receive their vaccines during the COVID-19 lockdown,” she said.
“We now urgently need to catch up. These ‘zero-dose’ children, those who haven’t received a single dose of vaccine, are a primary concern”, UNICEF Representative added.
