Nigeria will tackle diphtheria with a €150,000 (N75 million) gift from the European Union. The humanitarian fund will assist the most affected communities in the states of Kano, Katsina, Lagos, and Osun. In a statement issued on Monday, the Delegation of the European Union to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States said the allocation responds to the significant increase in diphtheria cases recorded since the beginning of 2023.
Diphtheria is a highly contagious bacterial infection transmitted between humans. It infects the upper respiratory tract and can cause breathing difficulties and suffocation. On 20 January 2023, the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control and Prevention officially declared an outbreak 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 89 fatalities.
The EU’s funding will enable the Nigerian Red Cross to provide emergency assistance aimed at reducing the impact of diphtheria on affected and at‑risk communities. Activities will include risk communication, outbreak control, surveillance, patient referral, hygiene promotion, and early case detection in the affected areas. This contribution is part of the EU’s overall support to the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Humanitarian assistance will directly and indirectly target around 1,585,080 people, with a particular focus on vulnerable individuals at risk of diphtheria, those living in sheltered communities, and those in hard‑to‑reach locations.
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