The Kano State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Abubakar Labaran Yusuf, has formally requested additional vaccines from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) to ensure adequate immunisation coverage across the state as part of efforts to strengthen public health and disease prevention.
Dr. Yusuf made the request while receiving the Director-General of the NCDC, Dr. Jide Idris, and his delegation during a strategic visit to Kano aimed at enhancing health security, improving outbreak preparedness, and strengthening disease surveillance and emergency response systems.
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Discussions focused on the state’s readiness to prevent and respond to potential outbreaks of Ebola Virus Disease and other epidemic-prone diseases.
Responding, Dr. Idris assured the state government that he would engage the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) to facilitate the vaccine request. He also pledged to review the NCDC component of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) to strengthen support for Kano’s public health programmes.
The NCDC Director-General further urged the Kano State Government to provide counterpart funding to reinforce Ebola preparedness and response activities.
The delegation also visited the headquarters of the Kano State Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (KNCDC), Nigeria’s first and only state-owned Centre for Disease Control. Dr. Idris commended the centre’s impressive infrastructure and acknowledged its critical role in disease surveillance, prevention and outbreak response.
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He also noted that Kano remains one of Nigeria’s priority states for Ebola preparedness due to its international airport and strategic location.
Receiving the delegation, the Director-General of KNCDC, Professor Muhammad Adamu Abbas, conducted the visitors around the facility, including the state’s first Public Health Laboratory.
He explained that once fully operational, the laboratory would significantly reduce the turnaround time for diagnostic investigations, including molecular testing, thereby improving the state’s capacity to respond swiftly and effectively to public health emergencies.
A key highlight of the meeting was the ongoing response to the diphtheria outbreak in Kano State.
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The visit began at the Kano Independent Research Centre Trust (KIRCT), Kwanar Dawaki, where Dr. Idris inspected the institution’s state-of-the-art laboratory facilities.
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He praised the quality of the infrastructure and the centre’s technical capacity, describing it as a valuable national asset.
He also commended Kano State’s sustained investment in public health infrastructure and disease control systems, expressing confidence that the state would continue to play a leading role in disease prevention and control across Nigeria.