Nigeria: PAN calls for stronger immunisation programme after deadly outbreaks

The Paediatric Association of Nigeria (PAN) has called for a review of the country’s immunisation programme and urged school managers to be more proactive in checking their pupils’ vaccination status. PAN’s intervention comes after two outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases led to several deaths in the past week. In Kebbi State, there was a suspected outbreak of cerebrospinal meningitis (CSM) which has resulted in 26 fatalities.  Meanwhile, a diphtheria outbreak at King’s College Lagos has provoked the death of one student and the hospitalisation of the other fourteen at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital. To curb the spread, Lagos state authorities have started vaccinating pupils and staff at the school.
Commenting on these events, PAN president Prof. Ekanem Ekure said the association received “with dismay” reports of the two outbreaks and urged a closer look at the national immunisation programme. She noted that while cerebrospinal meningitis was known to be endemic in some parts of the country, Nigeria was the first nation to roll out a new five-in-one vaccine for the disease in 2024. Considering the Kebbi State outbreak, she questioned the implementation of the vaccination campaign in northern Nigeria. On the Lagos diphtheria outbreak, she said instead that the event raises questions about the immunisation status of school children in the city. Children not fully vaccinated or whose primary immunisation effects have waned are reservoirs from which new outbreaks can spark. Ekure commended public authorities for their swift response to the outbreaks and underlined the ongoing surveillance and preparedness alert by major hospitals. She encouraged strengthening the national immunisation programme, following the recommendations of the WHO, and advocated better hygiene measures in the schools. She also asked to include disease outbreak preparedness in the annual budget, providing financial coverage for key measures like specific public education, facilities for quarantine and isolation, contact tracing, and treatment for confirmed cases.