The Kano State House of Assembly has called on the state government to urgently intervene in a reported diphtheria outbreak in Rano Local Government Area, which lawmakers say has claimed the lives of more than fifty children.
The call followed a motion of urgent public importance moved by the member representing Rano Constituency, Ibrahim Muhammad, during plenary presided over by the Speaker, Jibril Ismail Falgore.
The lawmaker said the outbreak was particularly severe in Ridin and Sabuwar Qaura communities, where more than fifty children had reportedly died.
He said although emergency measures, including the provision of medication and deployment of health workers, had been initiated, additional support was urgently required to contain the disease.
The lawmaker appealed to Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf and the Commissioner for Health to provide further emergency assistance to the affected communities.
Supporting the motion, the member representing Kiru Constituency, Usman Abubakar Tasiu, said the outbreak had spread to communities in Kiru, including Kwarin Dangora, Dangora town and Yelwa.
He disclosed that an APC youth leader in Kiru reportedly lost two children to the disease in one day.
Tasiu called for the establishment of an emergency committee to coordinate efforts to contain the outbreak in Rano, Tudun Wada, Kibiya, Bunkure, Bebeji and Kiru Local Government Areas.
Another lawmaker, representing Dawakin Tofa Constituency, Saleh Ahmad, urged the government to intensify vaccination and other preventive measures, warning that diphtheria is highly contagious and could spread rapidly to neighbouring communities.
The Majority Leader of the House, Lawan Husseini, called on the government to invoke the state’s Health Protection Law to contain the outbreak.
He said the law empowers the government to provide emergency relief and free healthcare, as well as restrict movement and isolate affected areas where necessary during outbreaks of infectious diseases.
The House subsequently adopted the motion and directed its Committee on Health to engage with the Ministry of Health on the implementation of the law and the provision of emergency relief to affected communities.