The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) disclosed on Thursday that the diphtheria outbreak in Nigeria has resulted in the death of at least 122 individuals.
In a statement issued by Safiya Yoba Akau, UNICEF’s Communications (Advocacy, Media & External Relations) representative, Ms. Cristian Munduate, the UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, expressed her distress over the surging rate of the outbreak, affecting children in 27 states of the country, with a case fatality rate (CFR) standing at 8.7%.
Ms Cristian Munduate revealed that as of July this year, the reported number of suspected cases stood at 3,850, and out of those, 1,387 cases were confirmed as diphtheria.
The Statement noted, ‘As of July 2023, 3,850 suspected cases were reported with 1,387 confirmed as diphtheria. The disease has tragically claimed 122 lives, with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 8.7%.’
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‘The outbreak has affected mainly Kano, Yobe, Katsina, Lagos, FCT, Sokoto, and Zamfara, which account for 98.0% of the suspected cases. Most confirmed cases, approximately 71.5%, have occurred among children aged 2 – 14 years.’
‘It’s heartbreaking to note that only 22 % of the confirmed cases received their routine childhood immunization vaccinations.’
‘Most of these affected children, especially those who unfortunately passed away, had not received a single dose of the vaccine. The need to reach the unreached has never been more critical,’ it said.
The statement further clarified, ‘UNICEF Nigeria is amplifying its efforts to counter a growing outbreak of diphtheria that has affected children in 27 states.’
‘In response to the outbreak, UNICEF is closely collaborating with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the affected States and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), providing technical support to plan and operationalise the response.’