Nigeria’s Senate has called on federal and state authorities to urgently build a coordinated emergency medical response system connecting public and private hospitals across the country.
Gatekeepers News reports that the call was prompted by the tragic death of Abuja-based singer Ifunanya Nwangene, also known as Nanyah, from a snakebite at her residence.
Lawmakers said the lack of accessible life-saving treatment, including antivenoms and emergency medicines, highlighted major shortcomings in the nation’s healthcare emergency preparedness and referral systems.
The resolution followed a motion by Senator Oluranti Adebule (Lagos West), who stressed that Nigeria continues to see rising numbers of medical emergencies, from snakebites and scorpion stings to poisonings and drug overdoses, that demand immediate access to specific antidotes and emergency care to prevent needless deaths and long-term disability.
She described Nwangene’s passing as tragic and avoidable, pointing to serious gaps in the availability of critical antidotes and emergency support in hospitals nationwide.
Senators urged Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), state governments, and the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to establish a national referral and response network that ensures hospitals have the right stock of antivenoms and emergency drugs, trained staff, and effective systems for rapid treatment.
They also asked that minimum stock levels for essential antidotes be mandated for both public and private hospitals, and that regular audits be carried out to confirm compliance.
In addition, the Senate called on the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to guarantee the quality, safe storage, and widespread availability of approved antivenoms and other life-saving emergency medicines, with priority given to high-risk regions where snakebite incidents are most common.
The upper chamber also directed healthcare regulators to make adequate antidote stocks a mandatory condition for hospital licensing and accreditation.
Recognising that emergency care depends on trained professionals, the Senate mandated periodic training for healthcare workers on administration of antidotes and other urgent care protocols.
Lawmakers also asked the Federal Ministry of Information and the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to carry out nationwide sensitisation campaigns about the dangers of delayed treatment following snakebites and other poisoning events.
The Senate further recommended that the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development revise building codes to include features like non-return valves in drainage systems, designed to keep rodents and snakes from entering residential buildings, a measure that could reduce encounters with venomous wildlife.
Public health experts have repeatedly warned that Nigeria, like many African countries, faces a serious burden from snakebite envenomation, a neglected tropical health issue that the World Health Organization estimates affects hundreds of thousands of people across sub-Saharan Africa each year.
Making antivenoms more widely available, improving emergency transport and referral systems, and training health workers in rapid response are seen as essential steps to reduce these preventable fatalities and complications.
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