Lawmaker raises alarm over deaths of children in Rano LGA

The Kano State House of Assembly has called on Governor Abba Yusuf to take urgent action to contain a severe diphtheria outbreak that has reportedly killed an unspecified number of children in the Rano Local Government Area (LGA).

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The resolution followed a motion of urgent public importance moved on Monday by the member representing Rano Constituency, Ibrahim Muhammad, during a plenary session presided over by Speaker Ismail Falgore.

Moving the motion, Mr Muhammad reported that the outbreak has hit the Ridin and Sabuwar Kaura communities hardest, resulting in several pediatric deaths.

He said the scale of the outbreak demanded an intensified emergency response.

“Although initial emergency measures have been taken, including the procurement of medication and deployment of health workers—further intervention is critical to containing this outbreak,” Mr Muhammad said at the plenary.

He urged the governor and the Commissioner for Health to dispatch additional emergency relief and medical supplies to the area.

The lawmaker also voiced deep concern over the recurrence of the disease, noting that a similar outbreak claimed several lives in the constituency last year.

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Seconding the motion, the member representing Kiru Constituency, Usman Tasiu, revealed that the infection has already crossed LGA boundaries, spreading to neighbouring Kiru communities, including Kwarin Dangora, Dangora town, and Yelwa.

Highlighting the human toll of the crisis, Mr Tasiu shared that a local youth leader in Kiru lost two children to the disease in a day.

He called for the immediate establishment of a joint emergency task force to coordinate containment efforts across Rano, Tudun Wada, Kibiya, Bunkure, Bebeji, and Kiru LGAs.

Joining the debate, Saleh Ahmad, representing Dawakin Tofa Constituency, stressed the highly contagious nature of diphtheria and urged the government to rapidly scale up vaccination drives and preventive health measures before the disease spreads further.

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Meanwhile, House Majority Leader Lawan Husseini advised the executive arm to invoke the provisions of Kano State’s Health Protection Law.

He pointed out that the legal framework authorises the government to deliver free healthcare, issue emergency relief, isolate affected communities, and restrict movement where necessary to curb infectious outbreaks.

Following deliberations, the House unanimously passed the motion. It directed its Committee on Health to engage the Ministry of Health on enforcing the Health Protection Law and delivering immediate relief to the affected communities.

Abubakar Nabulisi, the spokesperson of the state Ministry of Health, could not be reached immediately to comment on the incident. His phone call didn’t connect on Tuesday afternoon.