As the northern part of Nigeria, notable the Northwest and Northeast, is being ravaged by the recent unprecedented outbreak of diphtheria, the European Union (EU) has responded with the release of €1 million (about N847 million) in humanitarian funding to fight the spread of the disease.
The EU said in a statement in Abuja on Monday the funding would also assist the most affected communities contain the spread of the disease.
The latest package is in addition to €150,000 the EU allocated to the Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in March 2023 in an effort to help control the epidemic.
This new EU funding, the statement said, would enable the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and the medical NGO ALIMA to contribute to the response by providing technical and staff support to frontline health agencies to enhance surveillance and case detection, treatment of cases, community awareness raising, and to assist with the procurement of vaccines.
Nigeria is currently facing the world’s second largest diphtheria outbreak, with 10,322 confirmed and 16,616 suspected cases since the beginning of the year.
Kano State in the Northwest represents the outbreak’s epicentre, with 8,447 confirmed cases and 589 deaths.
The most affected states are Kano, Yobe, Katsina, Borno, Bauchi, and Kaduna, which collectively account for 96% of all suspected cases.
Despite control efforts since the start of the outbreak in late 2022, the disease has gradually spread to other states in the Northwest and Northeast.
Children aged 1 to 14 years represent 72% of all confirmed cases.
An analysis of the vaccination status revealed that over 60% of all suspected cases have not been vaccinated.
“This funding is part of the EU’s Epidemics tool, created to provide rapid funding in case of a disease outbreak,” the EU said in its statement.
Diphtheria is a highly contagious bacterial infection transmitted between humans.
It causes an infection of the upper respiratory tract, which can lead to breathing difficulties, suffocation and even death.
Those most at risk are children and people who have not been fully vaccinated against the disease.
The EU, together with its Member States, is the leading donor of humanitarian aid in the world through relief assistance expressed in European solidarity towards people in need around the world.
It aims to save lives, prevent, and alleviate human suffering and safeguard the integrity and human dignity of populations affected by natural disasters and man-made crises.
Also, the EU, through its Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid department, helps millions of victims of conflicts and disasters every year through its headquarters in Brussels and its global network of field offices, by providing assistance to the most vulnerable people based on humanitarian need alone.
The EU epidemics tool is one the four tools, composing the Emergency Toolbox set up by the European Commission to assist in unforeseen, sudden-onset crises.
The tool is also used to respond to and prevent epidemic outbreaks, while the Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) of the European Commission administers the various funding tools within this toolbox.