Diphtheria outbreak: EU donates €150,000 to Nigeria

The European Union (EU) has donated the sum of €150,000 as humanitarian fund to prevent the spread of diphtheria and assist the most affected communities in Kano, Katsina, Lagos and Osun states.

This was revealed in a statement by the EU Mission to Nigeria on Monday.

The funding which equals N75 million will enable the Nigerian Red Cross (NRC) to provide emergency assistance to reduce the impact of diphtheria on affected and at-risk communities through risk communication, outbreak control activities, surveillance, patient referral, hygiene promotion and early case detection in affected areas.

The humanitarian assistance would directly and indirectly target around 1,585,080 people, with a particular focus on vulnerable people at risk of diphtheria, those living in sheltered communities or hard-to-reach locations.

“The funding is part of the EU’s overall contribution to the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC),” the statement noted.

There has been significant increase in diphtheria cases in Nigeria since the beginning of the year.

Diphtheria is a highly contagious bacterial infection transmitted between humans. It causes an infection of the upper respiratory tract, which can lead to breathing difficulties and suffocation. Those most at risk are children and people who have not been fully vaccinated against the disease.

On January 20, 2023, the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) officially declared an outbreak of diphtheria in Kano and Lagos States after several suspected cases appeared a month earlier.

“The disease then spread rapidly to other states. From 136 cases in the first week of 2023, the country now records a total of 733 suspected cases and deplores 89 fatalities.

“The outbreak is described as one of the most serious occurrences in Nigeria in recent years with children aged between five and 18 years being the most vulnerable group,” the statement added.

Relief assistance is an expression of European solidarity towards people in need around the world. It aims to save lives, prevent and alleviate human suffering and safeguard the integrity and human dignity of populations affected by natural disasters and man-made crises.

The EU through its Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid department helps millions of victims of conflicts and disasters every year. Through its headquarters in Brussels and its global network of field offices, the EU provides assistance to the most vulnerable people based on humanitarian need alone.

The European Commission has signed a €3 million humanitarian delegation agreement with the IFRC, to support the Federation’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF). Funds from the DREF are mainly allocated to ‘small-scale’ disasters, those that do not give rise to a formal international appeal.

The DREF was established in 1985 and is supported by contributions from donors. Each time a National Red Cross or Red Crescent Society needs immediate financial support to respond to a disaster, it can request funds from the DREF.

For small-scale disasters, the IFRC allocates grants from the Fund, which can be replenished by the donors. The delegation agreement between the IFRC and ECHO enables the latter to replenish the DREF for agreed operations (within its humanitarian mandate) up to a total of €3 million.