Concerned with the vulnerability of Kano to series of life threatening communicable diseases, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has announced Federal Government’s readiness to establish disease diagnostic laboratory centre in Kano.
The Federal government commitment came when Kano, recently hit with the outbreak of Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM), which left eight persons dead at Dungurawa village in Dawakin-Tofa local government of the state.
Chief Executive Officer, NCDC, Dr. Chikwe Ihekwazu, who unveiled the plan in Kano at the opening of the 3rd Annual Disease Surveillance Review Meeting 2018, said the Centre was committed to supporting the State Government to create public laboratories to improve the capacity of disease control.
Ihekweazu who posited that the center will further strengthen diagnosis and detection of strange diseases however tasked Kano state government to sustain routine immunization in the state.
According to him “ the Centre for disease control is committed to supporting the State Government to create public laboratory in the state. When this is done, it will improve the capacity of disease control in the state. Again, we want to urge the state governments to embark on routine immunization on communicable and other child killer diseases to ensure effective prevention and Control”.
However, the Kano State Government has said about 476 solar direct drive refrigerators to cover more than 95 per cent of 484 political wards in the state, the initiative, targeted at strengthen delivery of routine immunization services to the communities.
Kano state deputy governor, Prof. Hafiz Abubakar, who spoke at the conference, said despite financial constraints in the last three years, the State Government has embarked on numerous projects and programmes aimed at improving the quality of lives of the people of the State.
According to him, “the vision of the present administration on health care is to ensure that the State attained its maximum potential and its citizens were provided with highest quality of care available. This measure has so far propelled the State government to embark on massive investment in health care as well as the completion of long abandoned health projects started over 10 years ago.
“The administration has continued the policy of ‘No Embargo’ on employment of doctors, nurses, midwives and other critical manpower for the health sector to ensure that our people are not deprived the services of professionals”, he pointed out.
The government has introduced farreaching programmes in the health care sector for free, which include the Maternal Child Health, Free Accident and Emergency Care as well as free eye care programmes among others.
The deputy governor thanked the NCDC for giving the State the rare privilege to host the event, stressing that it was a step towards attracting more investment in the health sector of the state. The State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Kabir Ibrahim Getso, revealed that the disease surveillance system of Kano State has achieved great success over the past three years with critical interventions including the pilot of surveillance and outbreak response management system.
