More than 50 children have reportedly died following a diphtheria outbreak in parts of Kano State, prompting the Kano State House of Assembly to call for urgent government intervention to contain the spread of the infectious disease.
The alarm was raised during Monday’s plenary session of the Kano State House of Assembly after the member representing Rano Constituency, Ibrahim Muhammad, moved a motion of urgent public importance over the outbreak in Rano Local Government Area.
According to the lawmaker, the situation is particularly severe in the Ridin and Sabuwar Kaura areas of Rano, where more than 50 children have reportedly lost their lives to diphtheria. He said the scale of the outbreak required additional emergency intervention from the state government to prevent further deaths.
Muhammad disclosed that some emergency measures had already been introduced in response to the outbreak. These include the purchase of medications and the deployment of health workers to communities affected by the disease.
However, he maintained that the measures currently in place were not sufficient to bring the situation under control, urging Governor Abba Yusuf and the state Commissioner for Health to provide additional emergency support to the affected communities.
The lawmaker expressed concern that the latest outbreak was occurring after a similar incident reportedly claimed several lives in the area last year. He warned that without stronger intervention, the disease could continue to spread and result in more fatalities.
“We want to inform the Governor and the Commissioner for Health to send further emergency aid to the region because the disease has spread heavily in that area,” Muhammad said.
The situation is reportedly not limited to Rano Local Government Area. During the Assembly debate, the member representing Kiru Constituency, Usman Abubakar Tasiu, said the outbreak had spread into communities within Kiru, including Kwarin Dangora, Dangora town and Yelwa.
Tasiu revealed that an All Progressives Congress youth leader in Kiru had lost two children to the disease within a single day, describing the development as a serious public health emergency requiring immediate coordinated action.
He called for the establishment of an emergency committee to coordinate the response across affected and potentially vulnerable communities. The proposed intervention would cover Rano, Tudun Wada, Kibiya, Bunkure, Bebeji and Kiru local government areas.
Another lawmaker, Saleh Ahmad, who represents Dawakin Tofa Constituency, called for intensified vaccination and other preventive measures. He warned that diphtheria is contagious and could spread quickly from affected communities to neighbouring areas if urgent containment measures were not implemented.
The lawmakers’ concerns centre on the need to prevent the outbreak from expanding beyond the communities already reporting cases. Increased vaccination, early detection, access to treatment and public health awareness are among the measures being urged as the state responds to the situation.
The Majority Leader of the Assembly, Lawan Husseini, also called on the state government to invoke the provisions of the Health Protection Law to strengthen its response to the outbreak.
According to Husseini, the legislation gives the government powers to provide emergency relief and free healthcare during public health emergencies. It also provides mechanisms for isolating affected communities and restricting movement where necessary to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.
The Kano State House of Assembly subsequently approved the motion and directed its Committee on Health to engage with the Ministry of Health on the implementation of the Health Protection Law and the provision of emergency assistance to the affected communities.
The committee is expected to work with relevant health authorities to determine the needs of the affected areas and examine measures required to strengthen the state's response.
The reported death toll has raised renewed concerns about diphtheria in Kano, a disease that can become life-threatening when infected patients do not receive timely medical attention. The disease is vaccine-preventable, making immunisation and early intervention important tools in controlling outbreaks.
The lawmakers have therefore urged the state government to intensify preventive measures while ensuring that affected communities receive the medical supplies and personnel required to deal with the situation.
For families in the affected communities, the latest development has heightened fears over the safety of children, particularly as the disease has reportedly moved beyond the initial areas of concern in Rano into parts of neighbouring local government areas.
The Assembly's intervention is now putting additional pressure on the Kano State Government to scale up its emergency response, strengthen vaccination efforts and provide immediate support to communities affected by the outbreak.
While the more than 50 deaths figure was presented during the Assembly proceedings, further official health-sector assessment will be important in establishing the full scale of the outbreak and determining the current number of confirmed cases and fatalities.
For now, lawmakers are demanding swift action to prevent additional loss of life and stop the disease from spreading to more communities across Kano State.
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