Diphtheria Outbreak Claims Over 50 Children in Kano, Lawmakers Raise Alarm

The Kano State House of Assembly has called on Governor Abba Yusuf to urgently intervene in a diphtheria outbreak that has reportedly killed more than 50 children in Rano Local Government Area.

The appeal followed a motion of urgent public importance raised by Ibrahim Muhammad, representing Rano Constituency, during Monday’s plenary session chaired by Speaker Ismail Falgore.

Muhammad said the outbreak was particularly severe in the Ridin and Sabuwar Kaura communities, where more than 50 children had reportedly died.

He said emergency measures had already been taken, including the purchase of medicines and the deployment of health workers to the affected communities, but additional intervention was needed to control the outbreak.

Muhammad urged the governor and the state Commissioner for Health to provide further emergency assistance to the affected communities. He also expressed concern that the outbreak had returned after a similar incident claimed several lives in the area last year.

Supporting the motion, Usman Abubakar Tasiu, representing Kiru Constituency, said the disease had spread beyond Rano to communities in Kiru, including Kwarin Dangora, Dangora town and Yelwa.

Tasiu disclosed that an APC youth leader in Kiru lost two children to the disease within a single day.

He called for the establishment of an emergency committee to address the outbreak in affected local government areas, including Rano, Tudun Wada, Kibiya, Bunkure, Bebeji and Kiru.

Another lawmaker, Saleh Ahmad, representing Dawakin Tofa, urged the government to intensify vaccination and other preventive measures. He warned that diphtheria is highly contagious and can spread rapidly to neighbouring communities.

The Majority Leader, Lawan Husseini, also called on the state government to invoke the state’s Health Protection Law to contain the outbreak.

According to him, the law empowers the government to provide emergency relief and free healthcare, as well as isolate affected areas and restrict movement during outbreaks of infectious diseases.

The House subsequently approved the motion and directed its Committee on Health to engage the Ministry of Health on enforcing the law and providing emergency relief to the affected communities.

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