The Senate has called on governments at all levels to urgently address gaps in emergency healthcare delivery by mandating the availability of minimum stocks of anti-venom and other life-saving antidotes in hospitals across Nigeria, particularly in high-risk and snake-prone areas.
The Senate passed the resolution following a point of order raised by Senator Idiat Adebule (Lagos West), who drew the attention of the Chamber to the death of a young Nigerian, Ifunanya Nwangene, allegedly due to the absence of anti-venom at the hospital where she was taken after suffering a snakebite.
Adebule, who described the incident as a painful and avoidable tragedy, stressed that no Nigerian should lose their life to treatable emergencies because of poorly equipped health facilities.
“It is heartbreaking that in this day and age, a young Nigerian could lose her life simply because a hospital did not have access to basic anti-venom. This is a systemic failure that requires urgent legislative and executive intervention,” she lamented.
The motion received overwhelming support from Senators, who called for stricter regulations to ensure that hospitals, especially those in rural and high-risk communities, maintain mandatory stocks of anti-venom and other critical antidotes.
In his contribution to the debate, Senator Sunday Karimi (Kogi West) said that it had become imperative for government to prioritise states with high incidences of snakebites.
“In many parts of the country, snakebites are a common occurrence, yet our hospitals are grossly unprepared. This resolution is about saving lives and enforcing accountability,” Karimi said.
Similarly, Senator Anthony Ani (Ebonyi South), while contributing to the motion, urged that compliance with minimum medical stock requirements be linked to hospital licensing.
“We must go beyond resolutions. Hospitals that cannot meet basic emergency care standards should not be allowed to operate,” Ani stated.
Also, Senator Titus Zam (Benue North-West) noted that rural dwellers are often the most affected by inadequate healthcare facilities.
“The poor and those in remote communities bear the brunt of these failures. Ensuring access to anti-venom is a matter of social justice,” Zam said.
Accordingly, the Senate resolved that compliance with minimum anti-venom and antidote stock requirements should be made a prerequisite for the licensing of new hospitals and the renewal of licences for existing ones nationwide.
In his remarks, the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, expressed condolences to the family of the deceased and Nigerians at large, describing the incident as deeply saddening and unacceptable.
“This is a loss that should never have happened. As a nation, we must do better to protect the lives of our citizens,” Akpabio said.
At the end of the debate and approvals to prayers of the motion, Akpabio led the apex legislative Assembly to observe a minute of silence in honour of the late Ifunanya.
