The Niger State Government has identified non compliance to vaccination as the major cause of the recent diphtheria outbreak in parts of the state, warming that “we may arrest parents who refuse their children vaccination”.
Giving this warning over the weekend, Commissioner of Health Dr Murtala Bagana said children who missed or failed to complete their immunisation doses are the ones who remain most at risk.
Speaking at the Ministry of Health’s second quarter media parley in Minna, Dr. Bagana attributed the outbreak to migration, myths, and cultural beliefs, adding that “these factors fuelled vaccine refusal”.
According to him “we know that there will never be a time without a disease outbreak. We have made significant progress as a state.
“Non compliance is one of the factors affecting the indices. Diphtheria is a vaccine preventable disease; we have most lives for something that is preventable.
“We are doing our best but enforcement is not really yielding results, but if I have my way, we may start to arrest some parents who refuse vaccination according to the Child Rights Act backing me.”
Giving clarification on the current situation, Director of Disease Control and Immunisation, Dr Samuel Jiya, said the gaps in routine immunisation were the reasons for the spread of the disease.
He explained that the pentavalent vaccine administered at 6, 10 and 14 weeks is critical to preventing diphtheria, yet many confirmed cases involved children who missed or did not complete the required doses.
According to him “anywhere you see a diphtheria outbreak, it means a child has not completed that vaccination or has not had access to it.
“Our investigations revealed that some affected children received only one dose, while other, some as old as nine or 10 years had never been vaccinated.”
To curtail the outbreak, he said the state has strengthened surveillance across all 274 wards, activated rapid response teams, and deployed an Emergency Operations Centre (EOC).
Targeted campaigns and community engagement are ongoing in high-risk areas, with religious and traditional leaders enlisted to improve vaccine acceptance.
Highlighting maternal protection.
Dr Jiya noted that pregnant women are being administered Tetanus-Diphtheria vaccines during antenatal care to safeguard new-borns in their early weeks.
He warned that refusal to vaccinate not only endangers individual children but also puts entire communities at risk.
Speaking also on the broader health interventions, Director of Public Health, Dr Ibrahim Idris, announced intensified efforts to boost vaccination coverage through weekly review meetings and expanded access via additional centres.
