Living up to his promise to confront urgent constituency issues, Kaduna Central Senator Uba Sani on Tuesday moved the Nigerian Senate to declare national health emergency on the measles threat in Wusar community of Igabi Local Government.
Moving a strong-worded motion, Senator Sani alerted the Senate to the existential danger of a measles outbreak in the Wusar community that claimed the lives of about 100 children.
Worried that the death toll may keep rising, Sani stressed the need for urgent response to avoid the imminent spread of the deadly disease to other parts of the country and regretted the underfunding of preventive agencies in the past.
Moved by the tone of urgency in Uba Sani’s motion, the Senate rose up in unison to declare the outbreak in Wusar a national health emergency.
The Senate also granted all Sani’s prayers, which include: sympathising with the affected community by observing a minute’s silence in honour of the children who lost their lives, and directing the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to mobilize to the Wusar for on – the – spot assessment with a view to providing relief materials and other necessary support to mitigate the pains.
In granting the third prayer, the Senate directed the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to set up an office in Kaduna State for rapid response.
The Senate also agreed to Sani’s prayer to urge the Federal Ministry of Health, the National Primary Healthcare Development
Agency (NPHCDA), the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), National
Orientation Agency and other relevant Federal Government Agencies to embark
on, and intensify massive sensitization and awareness campaign on the dangers
associated with measles with a view to eliminating the scourge in the country.
The prayer to direct its Committee on Primary Health and Communicable Disease when constituted, to engage the Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease
Control (NCDC) on the status of the Centre’s statutory requirement to have Zonal Centres in all the six geo political zones and offices in all the States of the
Federation as well as follow up on the activities of the Centre was also granted.
Granted also is Sani’s prayer for the Senate to increase budgetary allocation for the management of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the management of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) in order to fast-track the establishment of Zonal Centres in all the six geo political zones of the federation.
Thanking the Senate President for allowing him to come under Order 42 and 52 of the Senate Standing Rules, Senator Sani observed that his fellow Senators were equally wonderful, saying: “they did not hesitate in approving all my prayers. I say thank you dear colleagues.”
