By Sanusi Muhammad
Gusau
Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Zamfara state branch, has called on the state government to establish three emergency meningitis operation centres within the three senatorial districts for urgent treatment of people suffering with the disease.
Chairman of the association, Dr. Tijjani Saidu Abubakar, made the appeal yesterday while addressing journalists in his office in Gusau, the state capital.
He said when the centre were established, they would unify information management in addition to updating stakeholders and the general public on the progress “as it affects the meningitis outbreak.”
Abubakar said the NMA had observed that the state government was not prepared for the outbreak despite glaring signs of the epidemic, stressing that “for some months into the present outbreak of meningitis, the Zamfara state government is yet to provide the needed vaccines for the general population or at least the most at risk population.”
He said two local governments were slightly mapped out as the most at risk population, adding that they included Maradun and Birnin-Magaji.
“We observed that only development partners were the only health personnel that were engaged into intensive surveillance in some affected hard to reach areas to bring soccer to the victims.”
He called on the state government to strengthen its health institutions through “adequate and all- inclusive legislation in addition to employing adequate manpower for all the state general hospitals and Primary Health Centers to improve the health care delivery services.”
