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Zamfara working for new LG Service Commission law – Chairman

Zamfara working for new LG Service Commission law – Chairman
By Mohammed Lawal
Law
Zaria (Kaduna State), Aug. 28, 2019 (NAN) Dr Malami Aliyu-‘Yandoto, the Chairman, Zamfara State Local Government Service Commission, says the commission is working towards a new law to govern the activities of the commission.
He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sideline of a four-day workshop for Local Government Secretaries, Directors of Administration and Directors of Finance, on Wednesday, Zaria, Kaduna State.
NAN reports that the workshop with the theme: “Effective Interpersonal Relationship among Public and Political Office Holders in Local Government Administration”, is organised by the commission.
Aliyu-‘Yandoto said: “When I assumed office, as if there was no commission because in the actual sense, there is no law governing the commission at all.
“However, for now, we have gone far in working to have a standard law that will govern the activities of the commission according to stipulated rules and regulations.
“Work on the law has reached advanced stage, the commission and group of experts will examine and deliberate on the law before forwarding same to the governor who will vet it then forward to the State House of Assembly.’’
He explained that the law would give the commission a befitting face in accordance with the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Aliyu-‘Yandoto recalled that before the coming of the present administration, the commission was not looking like a government-own agency, but the new government had put necessary measures in place to reform the commission.
The chairman said the essence of the workshop was not only for the participants to be educated on how to carry out their jobs but also to be emulated by other states of the federation.
According to him, the commission had organised workshops on Financial Regulations, Transparency and now opted for Effective Interpersonal Relationship among Public and Political Office Holders in Local Government Administration.
Aliyu-‘Yandoto described training and retraining as the best tool for efficient and effective performance of workers, assuring that no matter how highly placed a worker is he/she required training to succeed.
On relative peace being enjoyed in the state, Aliyu-‘Yandoto commended the current administration of the state, adding that for 61 days now there had been no reports of killing.
“People can now distinguish between peace and killings of human beings, presently people have gone back to their farmlands, their places of worship as well as their business areas.
“This is one of the greatest achievements in Zamfara State for the mean time. Remember, during our campaign, we didn’t say people should elect us for anything other than peace.
“We thank Almighty God for restoring peace across Zamfara State. However, we want people to continue with supplications to Allah for sustainable peace,’’ he advised.
The Chief Executive Officer, BAZUF Worldwide Services Limited, the Consultant and Convener of the workshop, Dr Amina Sani, said the workshop was meant to change the mindsets of participants.
She appreciated the efforts of the commission which was directed towards transforming the system.
Sani said they decided to choose Team Work as one of the papers to be presented in order to show the participants the importance of working as a team.
She added that each one of them was expected to strive to become a team player instead of working individually.
A cross section of participants expressed appreciation to the commission for giving them the opportunity to update their knowledge and skills. (NAN)
KLM/COO/MST
Edited by Cecilia Odey/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Economy

Bus fare: Zamfara, Bauchi residents paid highest, lowest in May – NBS

Bus fare: Zamfara, Bauchi residents paid highest, lowest in May – NBS
By Temitope Ponle
Fare
Abuja, June 21, 2019 (NAN) The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says residents of Zamfara paid the highest bus journey fare within city with N300 in May, while Bauchi residents paid the lowest with N95.
This is contained in the organisation’s Transport Fare Watch for May 2019, published on its website.
The bureau, in the publication, stated that Zamfara was followed by residents of Abuja FCT who paid N270 and Adamawa with N250.
The report said that states with the lowest bus journey fare within city, along with Bauchi, were Anambra with N135.17 and Sokoto with N130.
The report covered the following categories; namely bus journey within the city per drop on constant routes; bus journey intercity, state routes and charge per person.
It also covered air fare charge for specified routes single journey; journey by motorcycle (Okada) per drop; and water way passenger transport.
According to the report, the average fare paid by commuters for bus journey within the city decreased by -2.74 per cent month-on-month and increased by 5.65 per cent year-on-year to N176.28 in May from N181.24 in April.
The report also stated that the average fare paid by commuters for bus journey intercity decreased by -1.33 per cent month-on-month and by -32.95 per cent year-on-year to N1,582.97 in May from N1,604.36 in April.
It added that the states with highest bus journey fare intercity were Abuja FCT with N4,150, Adamawa with N2,500 and Borno with N2,445.45.
Also, states with lowest bus journey fare within city were Bauchi with N975, Enugu with N961 and Gombe with N961.90.
The bureau said that the average fare paid by air passengers for specified routes single journey decreased by -0.27% month-on-month and by -3.23% year-on-year to N30,636.92 in May from N30,721.19 in April.
It further said states with highest air fare were Jigawa, Kwara and Rivers, all paying N35,000, while states with lowest air fare were Oyo (N25,064.90), Nasarawa (N25,048.77), and Sokoto (N25,000).
Furthermore, it stated that the average fare paid by commuters for journey by motorcycle per drop increased by 8.94 per cent month-on-month and 20.03 per cent year-on-year to N126.69 in May from N116.30 in April.
Also, states with highest journey fare by motorcycle per drop were Kogi (N233.33), Rivers (N196.92) and Ebonyi (N188.57) while states with lowest journey fare by motorcycle per drop were Zamfara (N60.29), Jigawa (N60.00) and Adamawa (N50.00).
The average fare also paid by passengers for water way passenger transport decreased by -7.47% month-on-month and by -12.44% year-on-year to N501.79 in May from N542.32 in April.
The bureau noted that states with highest fare by water way passenger transport were Bayelsa (N1,816.67), Rivers (N1,750.00) and Edo (N900.00).
Also, states with lowest fare by water way passenger transport were Delta (N178.57), Borno (N125.00) and Cross River (N125.00).
Field work for the report was done solely by over 700 NBS Staff in all States of the federation supported by supervisors who were monitored by internal and external observers.
Prices were collected across all the 774 local governments across all states and the FCT from over 10,000 respondents and locations.
The prices reflected actual prices households state they actually bought those fuels together with the prices reportedly sold by the fuel suppliers.
The average of all these prices was then reported for each state and the average for the country is the average for the state. (NAN)
TOP/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Politics

Osinbajo makes proposal for resolution of Zamfara APC crisis

Osinbajo makes proposal for resolution of Zamfara APC crisis
By Chijioke Okoronkwo
Zamfara
Abuja, Feb. 19, 2019 (NAN) Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has made a proposal aimed at resolving the protracted crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zamfara, Sen. Kabiru Marafa (APC-Zamfara Central) has said.
Marafa disclosed this while speaking with State House correspondents after a private meeting with Osinbajo on Tuesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He said that the postponement of the 2019 Presidential and National Assembly elections provided an opportunity to APC in Zamfara State to resolve the stalemate.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has insisted that Zamfara APC will not field candidates in the 2019 elections, following unresolved issues arising from the party’s primaries in the state.
A Zamfara State High Court sitting in Gusau and a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Jan. 25, gave conflicting judgments on the Zamfara APC crisis.
While the State High Court upheld the primary election conducted by the state chapter of APC, the Federal High Court in Abuja barred the party from fielding candidates in Zamfara in the upcoming general elections.
Marafa said he was in Presidential Villa on the invitation of the vice president.
“It has to do with the political impasse in Zamfara; he called to see if we can work a way out of it.
“Our discussions were quite fruitful; it was an honest discussion; he is a good man and he gave out a proposal which we are going to look at because I am not alone in the journey; I have followers and friends; we are going to look at it and I promised I will get back to him; today or tomorrow.
“The vice president is concerned that the problem still lingers up until this time and he promised to do the needful and we will tap from his years of experience and wisdom,” the lawmaker explained.
According to him, the postponement offered a window for discussion.
He said that if not because of the postponement, he would not have been in the Villa to discuss anything.
“It goes without saying that it is an advantage; if the election had actually taken place last Saturday, there will not be anything to discuss.
“So, I think it is understatement to even to say it is an advantage to Zamfara State,” he said.
Marafa said that the postponement had given Zamfara APC five more days within which to work out something. (NAN)
CJ/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Environment

Emergency agency says Zamfara has 19,000 IDPs

 

Emergency agency says Zamfara has 19,000 IDPs

Displacement
By Tosin Kolade
Zamfara, Feb. 7, 2019 (NAN) The Zamfara Emergency Management Agency (ZEMA) has expressed concern over the growing Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the state numbering 19,000 and called for humanitarian response to their needs.

 

The Executive Secretary of the agency, Alhaji Sanusi Usman, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday.

 

Usman called for stakeholders’ intervention to provide life-saving support to meet the needs of the displaced population.

 

According to him, facilities at the host communities are being overstretched with difficulty in meeting their daily needs, saying “it is an emergency’’.

·         Cue in Audio

“Virtually all the local governments of the state, we have 14 local governments, but all the local governments are affected, presently from July 2018 till January, we have over 19,000 IDPs in various camps, we have them at Anka Local governments as I have said, we have them here in Gusau local government, Birnin Magaji, Zurmi, Maradun and Tsafe, so we have about 19,000 plus IDPs.

“Presently, just the day before yesterday, we had attacks in Gusau local government, and the same thing, we gathered the IDPs in Mada Primary School, the State Government is there feeding them, the ZEMA is also coordinating the affairs of the camp.’’

·         Cue out Audio

Sanusi noted that ZEMA was working on coordination in partnership with the state government to prevent humanitarian crises, saying disaster reduction was everyone’s business.

He said that although the state lacked permanent IDP camps, host communities facilities were inadequate and called on all stakeholders in the health, nutrition, sanitation and education sector to provide succor to the populace.

He stressed the need to focus attention on the needs of host communities as the agency had mapped out strategies to improve the lives of the displaced persons.

He added that donor-funded interventions should focus on prevention rather than treatment, saying this must be in line with deliberate funding for sanitation and hygiene at al tiers of government. (NAN)
TAK/GY
=======

Edited by Grace Yussuf

Environment

Zamfara agency constructs 35 boreholes in cholera affected communities

Zamfara agency constructs 35 boreholes in cholera affected communities

Boreholes
By Tosin Kolade
Zamfara, Feb. 7, 2019 (NAN) Alhaji Sani Yaro, the Programme Manager, Zamfara Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA), says no fewer than 35 hand pump boreholes have been constructed in cholera affected communities in the state.

Yaro told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on sidelines of a WASH in Emergency Working Group Monitoring and Assessment visit on cholera to the state on Thursday.

He said that with support from development partners, latrines had been constructed in schools and health facilities for communities to stop open defecation practice and encourage Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) interventions.

According to him, open defecation is a major factor predisposing communities to preventable diseases and deaths, saying this became necessary to forestall further spread of cholera and other preventable diseases.

·         Cue in audio

“We also have WASH Emergency interventions with the support of donors; UNICEF and DFID, in 2018, precisely in December, we were given approval to construct 35 new hand-pump boreholes in cholera affected communities, and at the same time, 80 broken down hand pump boreholes were rehabilitated through this support, as well as five solar-motorised boreholes.

“We are establishing and training WASH committees in all these cholera affected communities, and we are implementing this project in six LGAs in the state, they are the Sanitation, Hygiene and Water in Nigeria (SHAWN) selected LGAs, namely; Birnin-Magaji, Talata Mafara, Bakura, Tsafe, Shinkafi and Maru, like last year, we have intervened in 100 schools, we provided boreholes and sanitation facilities as well as 50 health facilities.’’

·         Cue out Audio

He noted that the agency was partnering with UNICEF and the Department for International Development to see that Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Intervention was evident in the state.

He said that the agency had set up an Emergency Operations Centre in partnership with the State Emergency Management Agency to provide information and response to humanitarian needs of Internally Displaced Persons.

“We are partnering with the state Emergency Management Agency, anytime there are IDPs in the state, they quickly intimate us, we carry out hygiene promotion, we also do latrines, there are some smart toilets introduced through sanitation marketing, which are very easy to construct, in a day, you can construct up to 10 toilets.

“My state is ready to pay its counterpart funding, but we want the Federal Government to consider the state, following the state having the highest cholera cases, it will be good for donors coming through the Federal Ministry of Water Resources to consider the state in its selection, so that we will further collaborate effectively and eradicate those diseases.’’

He listed challenges of poor funds, inadequate resources to construct toilets, saying the state has trained WASH committees in the cholera affected communities, to pass the message of Nhygiene forward.

He said that rehabilitation of 80 hand pump boreholes and five boreholes had been done to help in scaling up interventions to meet the sanitation and hygiene needs of the communities.

The programme manager said that the agency had also carried out social mobilisation and awareness by triggering 105 communities on community led total sanitation for people to end open defecation practice.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the WASH in Emergency Working Group was established in 2012 when the country experienced serious devastating flood that affected 85milion people from 14 states.

The group has since remained active, especially in the North-East where IDPs exist and have responded immediately to outbreaks.

The group membership cuts across WASH sector players from Institutions, Development Partners, International and Local NGOs, CSOs responding to WASH issues in the North East, with UNICEF as its co-lead. (NAN)
TAK/GY
=====

Edited by Grace Yussuf

Environment

130 people die of cholera in Zamfara in 2018 – Group

 

Cholera
By Tosin Kolade
Zamfara, Feb. 6, 2019 (NAN) The Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in Emergency Working Group says no fewer than 130 people died of cholera in the state in 2018, calling on Zamfara government to halt the outbreak.

 

The Team Lead of the group, Mr Baba Galadima made this known while on a Cholera Assessment and Monitoring visit to Zamfara on Wednesday.

 

Galadima said that the state needed to reduce cholera deaths by 90 per cent as it was a major public health concern.

 

According to him, a report from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control shows that no fewer than 44,201 suspected cases with more than 836 deaths have so far been reported from 204 LGAs in 20 states in 2018.

 

“Cholera continues to hit communities around our country, Zamfara state currently faces the largest cholera outbreaks with over 8,331 suspected cases and more than 130 deaths reported as at December 2018.

 

“Over 186 people have died of cholera in Katsina State since beginning of 2018, and about 100 from Sokoto State, while Kebbi State reported over 100 cases with few deaths.’’

 

He described cholera as a disease of inequity which sickens and kills only the poorest and most vulnerable people, saying “the map of cholera is essentially the same as a map of poverty.’’

 

He stressed that cholera could be controlled with a multi-sector approach, including basic water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services, and oral cholera vaccines (OCV), saying health intervention alone would not solve it.

 

Galadima noted that death from cholera was preventable with the tools Nigeria has today, stressing the goal of ending its public health impact was within reach.

 

He also called for budgetary allocation for sanitation and hygiene, adding that the Federal Government said it would not be business as usual, that states must begin to contribute.

 

Alhaji Sani Yaro, the Programme Manager, Zamfara Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA), noted that the agency had set up an Emergency Operations Centre to provide information and response to humanitarian needs.

 

He listed challenges of poor funds, inadequate resources to construct toilets, saying the state had trained WASH committees in the cholera affected communities to pass the message of hygiene forward.

 

While commending UNICEF for intervention, Yaro said that 35 new boreholes had been constructed in in selected cholera communities.

 

He said that rehabilitation of 80 hand pump boreholes and five boreholes had been provided to help in scaling up interventions to meet the sanitation and hygiene needs of the communities.

 

The programme manager said that the agency had also carried out social mobilisation and awareness by triggering 105 communities on community-led total sanitation for people to end open defecation practice.

 

Yaro pledged the commitment of the state to pay its counterpart funds for sanitation and hygiene scale-up, noting that this was already being provided partly.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the WASH in Emergency Working Group was established in 2012, when the country experienced serious devastating flood that affected 85milion people from 14 states.

 

The group has since remained active, especially in the North-East where IDPs exist and have responded immediately on outbreaks.

 

The group membership cuts across WASH sector players from Institutions, Development Partners, International and Local NGOs, CSOs responding to WASH issues in the North East, with UNICEF as its co-lead. (NAN)
TAK/GY
======

Edited by Grace Yussuf

Education

Zamfara school girls to re-enrol peers – UNICEF

Zamfara school girls to re-enrol peers – UNICEF
By Amina Ahmed
Education
Talata Mafara (Zamfara), July 3, 2018 (NAN) Some primary school pupils in Tsakuwa community of Talata Mafara Local Government Area of Zamfara have pledged to re-enrol their out school peers back to classes through the UNICEF Girls for Girls (G4G) project.
Some of the G4G participants made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Talata Mafara.
Ms Ummi Salma Hassan, President of the G4G group at Tudun Wada Primary school, said the project has strengthened their self esteem, leadership and life skills as well as ensuring school retention to completion.
According to her, through interaction with peers and mentoring techniques employed by participating pupils in the G4G, she has successfully re-enrolled about 10 out of school girls back to the class room.
“Since I started participating in the G4G meetings, I learnt that basic education is all I need to achieve my desire of becoming a doctor to help women in my community.
“Therefore, I have pledged to encourage and re-enrol my peers that were in the past attending school and later drop out to come back,’’ she said.
Ms Hadiza Isa, a primary six pupil at Tudun Wada Primary School, also told NAN that the G4G project introduced by UNICEF would end girl child molestation in their schools and community at large.
She said their mentors made to them understand that no person should gain access to their body.
“Our mentors said we should not allow boys or men to touch our body because we want education.
“Our body should be for only me, and that whoever does that we should tell them no,” she said.
The Leader of Mothers Association in Tsakuwa community, Mrs Aisha Abdullahi, lauded the project, noting that it has boosted the morale of their daughters.
She called on the Zamfara Government to support and sustain such programmes in the interest of future leaders.
Abdullahi called on the stakeholders to initiate empowerment programmes to parents so as to support the education of their children through provision of learning materials, among others.
NAN reports that the UNICEF G4G project has introduced a similar project for school boys to champion education in Bauchi, Katsina and Zamfara states.
The G4G is running in primary schools only in the selected states of Bauchi, Katsina and Zamfara as a pilot project. (NAN)
AE/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Defence/Security

Army neutralise 20 armed bandits, arrest 3 in Zamfara

Army neutralise 20 armed bandits, arrest 3 in Zamfara
By Mohammad Tijjani
Bandits
Kaduna, June 23, 2018 (NAN) The Nigerian Army, 1 Division Kaduna, on Saturday said it had neutralised 20 armed bandits and arrested three suspects at Jambrini Village in Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara.
The Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Muhammad Dole, made the disclosure in a statement issued in Kaduna.
Dole said the troops of 1 Division Nigerian Army in the ongoing Operation IDON RAINI Corridor II conducted a raid on armed bandits’ hideouts in the general area of Jambrini village in the early hours of June 23.
According to him, during the raid operations several camps were destroyed and 20 bandits were neutralised.
“Three bandits were also arrested while some escaped with gunshot wounds.’’
He listed items recovered from the bandits to include four AK 47 rifles, one F99 Pistol, one PTT HH Motorola Handset, 111 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, five AK 47 rifle magazines, two dane guns, three mobile phones and one power bank.
Dole said the troops remain determined and committed to frustrating banditry activities in the area of operation.
He said this feat was achieved through reliable information provided by some well meaning residents of the area.
“The public is urged to share credible information with the Nigerian Army and other security agencies,” Dole said. (NAN)
TJ/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

NARD Strike: Patients overwhelm Zamfara Hospital

NARD Strike: Patients overwhelm Zamfara Hospital
NAN-HG-6
Patients
Gusau, Sept. 7, 2017 (NAN) As the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) continues its nationwide strike, the Ahmad Sani Yerima Bakura Specialist Hospital, Gusau, is overwhelmed with patients, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
The Acting Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Oyaromade Abidemi, told NAN that since the strike commenced there were more patients trooping into the hospital and most of the wards were filled up.
“We have been receiving lots of patients since the strike commenced on Monday and some patients were asked to go to private hospitals, due to lack of bed spaces.
“All the hospital bed spaces had been occupied by the patients and we cannot discharge patients unless they are medically fit, so we had to send them to other hospitals in the state,” he said.
The medical director said that the state government had approved the construction of more buildings in the premises, which he said would have up to 96 bed spaces.
“The state government has given the go ahead for the construction of more wards, which is made up of Surgery, Medical, Paediatric and Gynaecology wards for the hospital to accommodate more patients.
“This development will help the hospital work better and stop the idea of admitting two people in a bed space, as it is usually done in the labour ward during doctors’ strike or strike by other medical personnel,” he said.
Some nurses at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Gusau told NAN on condition of anonymity that they were overwhelmed with the influx of patients to the hospital.
However the General Out Patients’ Department of the hospital recorded few patients with most of them civil servants using the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
At the Emergency Unit of the FMC, only patients with critical condition were being attended to by the medical consultants, while other wards had fewer patients.
One of the nurses at the FMC also told NAN that most cases had been transferred to the State Specialist Hospital while others had gone to private hospitals across the state for treatment. (NAN)
MOB/ABA/IFY/MST
Edited by IFY OMOWOLE/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

FG provides vaccines against meningitis for 420,000 people

FG provides vaccines against meningitis for 420,000 people

NAN-HG-7

Vaccines

By Donald Ugwu

Abuja, April 12, 2017 (NAN) The Federal Government on Wednesday said no fewer than 420,000 people had received meningitis vaccination to mitigate the effects of the outbreak of the disease in parts of the country.

The Minister of State for Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, announced this to State House Correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in Abuja.

He said that about 70 per cent of meningitis outbreak was recorded in Zamfara, noting that all the medical teams had arrived in the state to improve on the strategy to reach out to the population and spread the vaccination.

“As of now, about 420,000 people have been vaccinated in Zamfara state and I can tell you that we are beginning to see the `plato’ that is to say that the epidemic is no more rising,

“It is beginning to flatten out and we hope that it is going to come down soon.

“By this weekend, we are expecting 823,000 vaccines from the UK.

“They have been approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) quality-wise.

“It is a special kind of vaccine called the conjugate vaccine which has a longer protection of about 10 years than the usual vaccine which we have been using before, which is called the polysaccharide vaccine.

“That gives protection for about two or three years.”

The minister said that as of now there were 4,637 suspected cases out of which 489 fatalities were recorded with 207 already confirmed in laboratory tests.

He said that the vaccination team would move to Sokoto State in a few days to use the vaccines to control the situation.

The minister said that the outbreak was reported late in some of the affected states, noting that people taught it was mild sickness.

He denied rumours that the vaccines had gone into private pharmacies as the vaccines had passed through the primary health care agencies of government for administration to victims.

Ehanire said government had yet to determine how many vaccines would be required but added that government had placed order for two million dozes.

He said that government would continue to administer what was provided and would make additional requests when the need arose.

He also said that response to the outbreak was professional and that health authorities were on top of the situation.

On the proactive measures being put in place for eventual outbreak of cholera and gastro-enteritis as rainy season sets in, he said there was a very good level of preparedness to tackle the situation.

He also said that government had in place a system that prepared and anticipated such outbreaks but noted that it might be difficult to determine where the outbreak would emerge.

He noted that government used to carry out preventive measures against seasonal diseases such as malaria.

The minister said that the preparation was on-going and constantly being reviewed in partnership with WHO, UNICEF and others to protect the population from diseases. (NAN) DCU/HAS/MST

Edited By Hajia Sani/Muhammad Suleiman TolaFG provides vaccines against meningitis for 420,000 people
NAN-HG-7
Vaccines
Abuja, April 12, 2017 (NAN) The Federal Government on Wednesday said no fewer than 420,000 people had received meningitis vaccination to mitigate the effects of the outbreak of the disease in parts of the country.
The Minister of State for Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, announced this to State House Correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in Abuja.
He said that about 70 per cent of meningitis outbreak was recorded in Zamfara, noting that all the medical teams had arrived in the state to improve on the strategy to reach out to the population and spread the vaccination.
“As of now, about 420,000 people have been vaccinated in Zamfara state and I can tell you that we are beginning to see the `plato’ that is to say that the epidemic is no more rising,
“It is beginning to flatten out and we hope that it is going to come down soon.
“By this weekend, we are expecting 823,000 vaccines from the UK.
“They have been approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) quality-wise.
“It is a special kind of vaccine called the conjugate vaccine which has a longer protection of about 10 years than the usual vaccine which we have been using before, which is called the polysaccharide vaccine.
“That gives protection for about two or three years.”
The minister said that as of now there were 4,637 suspected cases out of which 489 fatalities were recorded with 207 already confirmed in laboratory tests.
He said that the vaccination team would move to Sokoto State in a few days to use the vaccines to control the situation.
The minister said that the outbreak was reported late in some of the affected states, noting that people taught it was mild sickness.
He denied rumours that the vaccines had gone into private pharmacies as the vaccines had passed through the primary health care agencies of government for administration to victims.
Ehanire said government had yet to determine how many vaccines would be required but added that government had placed order for two million dozes.
He said that government would continue to administer what was provided and would make additional requests when the need arose.
He also said that response to the outbreak was professional and that health authorities were on top of the situation.
On the proactive measures being put in place for eventual outbreak of cholera and gastro-enteritis as rainy season sets in, he said there was a very good level of preparedness to tackle the situation.
He also said that government had in place a system that prepared and anticipated such outbreaks but noted that it might be difficult to determine where the outbreak would emerge.
He noted that government used to carry out preventive measures against seasonal diseases such as malaria.
The minister said that the preparation was on-going and constantly being reviewed in partnership with WHO, UNICEF and others to protect the population from diseases. (NAN)
DCU/HAS/MST
Edited By Hajia Sani/Muhammad Suleiman Tola