The European Union (EU) Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS has given one million euros (N847 million) to combat the diphtheria outbreak in the Northeast and Northwest regions of Nigeria.
The bloc, in an attempt to address the disease outbreak in Nigeria, contributed the money to support the most impacted populations and stop the disease’s spread.
In a statement released by the EU Embassy in Abuja, the group made the commitment, stating that the 34 million euros made available in June 2023 will be used by the EU to combat diseases and climate-related issues, among other things.
This amount, according to the statement, is in addition to the 150,000 euros that were previously given to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Disaster Response Emergency amount (DREF) in March 2023 in an attempt to aid in the control of the outbreak.
With this additional EU financing, 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,” it said.
