Nigeria will fight diphtheria with a donation of €150,000 (N75m) from the European Union. The Humanitarian Fund will assist the most affected communities in Kano, Katsina, Lagos and Osun States.
The European Union’s delegation to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States said in a statement issued on Monday that the quota was in response to a significant increase in diphtheria cases recorded in Nigeria since early 2023.
This statement recalled that the Nigeria Center for Disease Control and Prevention formally declared an outbreak of diphtheria in Kano and Lagos states on 20 January 2023.
The disease has since spread rapidly to other states, and from 136 cases in the first week of 2023, the country now has a total of 733 suspected cases and 89 deaths.
The statement said-
“The EU funding will enable the Nigerian Red Cross to provide emergency assistance to reduce the impact of diphtheria on affected and at-risk communities through risk communication, outbreak control activities, surveillance, patient referral and hygiene promotion, and early case detection in affected areas.
“This funding is part of the EU’s overall contribution to the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Humanitarian assistance will, directly and indirectly, target around 1,585,080 people, with a particular focus on vulnerable people at risk of diphtheria, those living in sheltered communities or hard-to-reach locations.”
cc: Punch Ng
