The House of Representatives has called on the Federal Government to embark on massive diphtheria vaccination and awareness campaigns in schools across the country to prevent outbreaks.
The call by the green chamber was sequel to a motion of public importance sponsored by the spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Mr. Akin Rotimi, following the outbreak of diphtheria in King’s College Lagos.
In a lead debate, Mr. Rotimi explained that the outbreak resulted to the death of a 12-year-old student and the hospitalization of several others.
According to Mr. Rotimi, the outbreak exposes lapses in infection prevention and control measures in schools.
Adopting the motion, the House mandated its Committees on Health and Basic Education to engage with relevant agencies, including the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), to assess and enhance infection prevention and emergency response measures in schools.
The House also mandated the NCDC to establish and implement a structured disease surveillance system within all federal unity colleges to ensure early detection and rapid response to infectious disease outbreaks.
RN
