Nigeria Suffers Most Severe Diphtheria Outbreak

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Wednesday raised the alarm and urged for widespread vaccination against the background of the most severe diphtheria outbreak in Nigeria.

"In the midst of the most severe diphtheria outbreak in recent global history, UNICEF Nigeria is sounding the alarm about the urgent need for widespread vaccination," UNICEF Nigeria said in a statement on the website.

UNICEF said that over 11,500 suspected cases and more than 7,000 confirmed cases of diphtheria, mostly in children aged between 4 to 15 years, have so far been detected in the country, adding that the outbreak has already claimed the lives of 453 people.

UNICEF also pointed out that the majority of children "have not received even a single dose of the vital vaccine" against diphtheria, urging for vaccination in Nigeria.

"UNICEF is providing urgent support to the Nigerian government in its efforts to combat the outbreak. A crucial part of this support includes the procurement of vaccines to support the government’s response. So far, on behalf of the government, UNICEF has deployed 9.3 million doses of diphtheria vaccines to affected states including Kano, Bauchi, Borno, Yobe, Katsina, Kaduna and Jigawa. Of these, 4 million doses have been dispatched to Kano, the epicentre of the outbreak. Another 4 million doses of vaccines are being procured and will be handed over to government in the coming weeks," the statement said.

UNICEF Nigeria also said that it needs to raise an additional $3.3 million by the end of the year to respond effectively to the outbreak and called on partners, stakeholders and the international community "to rally together to ensure that every child in Nigeria is reached with life-saving vaccines."