Kano Assembly urges urgent action as diphtheria outbreak claims over 50 children in Rano LG

The Kano State House of Assembly has called on the state government to urgently intervene in a reported diphtheria outbreak in Rano Local Government Area, which lawmakers said has claimed the lives of more than 50 children.

The call followed a motion of urgent public importance moved by the member representing Rano Constituency, Ibrahim Muhammad, during plenary presided over by the Speaker, Jibril Ismail Falgore.

Muhammad said the outbreak was particularly severe in Ridin and Sabuwar Qaura communities, where more than 50 children had reportedly died from the disease.

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He said although emergency measures, including the provision of medication and deployment of health workers, had commenced, additional support was urgently needed to contain the outbreak.

The lawmaker appealed to Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf and the Commissioner for Health to provide further emergency assistance to the affected communities.

Supporting the motion, the member representing Kiru Constituency, Usman Abubakar Tasiu, said the outbreak had spread to communities in Kiru, including Kwarin Dangora, Dangora town, and Yelwa.

Tasiu disclosed that an APC youth leader in Kiru reportedly lost two children to the disease in a single day.

He called for the establishment of an emergency committee to coordinate efforts to contain the outbreak across Rano, Tudun Wada, Kibiya, Bunkure, Bebeji, and Kiru Local Government Areas.

Similarly, the member representing Dawakin Tofa Constituency, Saleh Ahmad, urged the government to intensify vaccination and other preventive measures, warning that diphtheria is highly contagious and could spread rapidly to neighboring communities.

The majority leader of the House, Lawan Husseini, called on the state government to invoke the provisions of the state’s Health Protection Law to contain the outbreak.

According to him, the law empowers the government to provide emergency relief and free healthcare and, where necessary, restrict movement and isolate affected areas during outbreaks of infectious diseases.

The House subsequently adopted the motion and directed its Committee on Health to engage with the Ministry of Health on the implementation of the law and the provision of emergency relief to the affected communities.