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The Nigerian Government has deployed 500,000 doses of diphtheria vaccines to Kano and Katsina states as it activates an emergency task force to contain an outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease among children.
The intervention, announced on Friday by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, will also include intensified disease surveillance, expanded treatment centres and emergency supplies for the Teaching Hospital in Katsina.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, directed the activation of the multi-agency task force as part of measures to contain the outbreak and close immunisation gaps in affected and at-risk communities.
Ado Bako, Assistant Director, Information and Public Relations at the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, in a statement, said the ministry, in collaboration with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), affected state governments and international partners, has constituted the task force.
The task force will be co-chaired by the Director-General of NCDC and the Director of Public Health, with the ministry’s Chief Epidemiologist serving as secretary.
Its membership includes representatives of NPHCDA, the health commissioners of Katsina, Kano, Zamfara and Sokoto states, the World Health Organisation, UNICEF and the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme in Katsina.
The government said the task force had been directed to act immediately on outbreak containment and immunisation, access to treatment, and referral care.
The task force will also conduct outbreak investigations, strengthen disease surveillance and intensify community sensitisation to identify and vaccinate unprotected children.
The government is also moving to bring treatment closer to affected communities in Katsina State.
It said it would establish treatment annexes in hospitals across the state’s three senatorial districts — Katsina, Daura and Funtua — to enable earlier intervention for patients.
At the Teaching Hospital, Katsina, the principal referral facility for the state and parts of neighbouring states, the government said it would mobilise emergency support, including Diphtheria Antitoxin (DAT), intravenous antibiotics, additional clinical personnel and personal protective equipment.
The task force will provide Pate with weekly updates on the progress of the response, emerging challenges, and additional requirements, with bottlenecks escalated for immediate resolution.
The latest outbreak comes against the backdrop of Nigeria’s prolonged struggle with diphtheria, which re-emerged as a major public health threat in 2022.
WHO reported that between June 30 and August 31, 2023, Nigeria recorded 5,898 suspected cases from 59 local government areas across 11 states, with Kano accounting for 1,816 cases and Katsina 234. The agency said more than half of confirmed cases in the wider outbreak were among unvaccinated people.
Diphtheria is a highly contagious bacterial disease that can cause severe respiratory illness and death, particularly among young children.
Vaccination prevents it, and diphtheria antitoxin and antibiotics can treat it.
Press Release
FG ACTIVATES EMERGENCY TASK FORCE TO RESPOND TO DIPHTHERIA OUTBREAK IN KATSINA, KANO
Abuja, Nigeria | 28 August 2026The Federal Government has activated an emergency task force to contain the outbreak of diphtheria among children in parts of Katsina and Kano… pic.twitter.com/RrtrkmkYlA
— Federal Ministry of Health, NIGERIA (@Fmohnigeria) August 28, 2026
