The Kano State Centre for Disease Control (KNCDC) has turned to traditional institutions to drive community acceptance of vaccination and curb the spread of diphtheria following a recent outbreak in Rano Local Government Area.
The move reflects growing concern that low immunisation coverage, delayed presentation at health facilities and reliance on informal treatment could undermine efforts to contain the infectious disease and expose more communities to transmission.
Muhammad Adamu-Abbas, director-general of KNCDC, made the appeal during a meeting with district heads under the Kano Emirate Council in Kano, where he urged traditional leaders to use their networks to promote vaccination and ensure early reporting of suspected cases.
Adamu-Abbas said increased vaccine uptake remained critical to preventing further transmission, particularly among children who are more vulnerable to the consequences of inadequate routine immunisation.
He said many of the diphtheria cases recorded in the state involved children who had either missed routine vaccinations, received treatment from patent medicine vendors or traditional healers, or arrived at health facilities after the disease had progressed.
The KNCDC director-general urged district heads to intensify sensitisation at the grassroots, stressing that residents should seek medical attention immediately when symptoms associated with the disease emerge.
He also appealed to traditional medicine practitioners and barbers, known locally as Wanzamai, to refrain from attempting to treat suspected diphtheria cases or carrying out interventions that could delay access to appropriate medical care.
‘Suspected cases should be referred immediately to health facilities,’ Adamu-Abbas told the traditional leaders, stressing the importance of early detection and treatment in controlling the outbreak.
The engagement with the traditional institution comes amid concerns over casualties associated with the recent outbreak in Rano and the potential for the disease to spread to neighbouring communities.
Traditional leaders, according to the KNCDC, occupy a critical position in Kano’s community mobilisation structure because of their influence over village and ward-level leadership.
Responding to the appeal, Bashir Dankadai, Dankadai of Kano, assured the disease control agency that the traditional institution would support the vaccination campaign and community response to diphtheria.
Dankadai said district heads would mobilise village heads, known as Dagatai, who would subsequently engage ward heads, or Masu Unguwanni, to take the vaccination and disease-awareness campaign to residents.
He said the traditional institution would also caution traditional healers and barbers against interfering with the treatment of suspected diphtheria cases.
According to him, the traditional leadership structure would work with KNCDC to encourage residents to present suspected cases at health facilities promptly rather than relying on unverified treatment methods.
The collaboration is expected to strengthen surveillance at the community level, allowing suspected cases to be identified and reported more quickly while improving public understanding of the importance of vaccination.
The latest mobilisation drive also comes against the backdrop of a request by KNCDC for the urgent supply of nine million doses of vaccines to strengthen the state’s capacity to contain diphtheria.
The request underscores the scale of the public health challenge facing Kano, one of Nigeria’s most populous states and a major commercial centre with densely populated urban and rural communities.
In response to the outbreak and concerns about its possible spread, the Federal Ministry of Health deployed 500,000 doses of vaccines to Kano and Katsina states, alongside a special task force to coordinate surveillance and rapid response activities.
The deployment is aimed at supporting state-level efforts to identify cases, vaccinate vulnerable populations and prevent further transmission.
Diphtheria is a vaccine-preventable bacterial infection that can spread through respiratory droplets and close contact. Its prevention depends heavily on high vaccination coverage, while early diagnosis and appropriate treatment are important once infection is suspected.
For Kano, health officials are now relying not only on medical facilities and emergency response teams but also on the state’s traditional leadership network to close gaps between public health interventions and communities.
The involvement of district, village and ward heads could prove particularly important in communities where residents may be more responsive to messages delivered through trusted local authorities.
Health authorities are therefore expected to sustain surveillance and vaccination activities while encouraging families to ensure that children receive routine immunisation and that suspected infections are reported without delay.
The KNCDC’s engagement with the traditional institution signals a shift towards a broader community-led response, with officials seeking to address both the availability of vaccines and the behavioural factors that can delay treatment and facilitate the spread of preventable diseases.