The Kaduna State Ministry of Health on Friday confirmed a diarrhoea outbreak at the Government Girls Senior and Junior Secondary School, Kawo, affecting 81 students, with 15 hospitalised.
An investigation conducted by the Kaduna State Rapid Response Team, led by the State Epidemiologist, Jeremiah Diako, revealed that the affected students were between the ages of 16 and 17.
Mr Diako stated that the students were immediately transferred to a secondary health facility for treatment at General Hospital, Kawo.
He said all hospitalised students have since been discharged.
In response to the outbreak, the State Ministry of Health recommended several preventive measures to avoid future occurrences.
“These include strengthening disease reporting mechanisms, establishing school-based surveillance systems, standardising case referral procedures, providing food safety and waste management training, and improving local outbreak preparedness.”
The ministry emphasised the urgent need to implement the measures to protect students’ health and prevent similar incidents in the future.
(NAN)
Over 50% of drugs in circulation are fake, says ACPN
The National Chairman of the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria, ACPN, Pharm. Ezeh Igwekamma, has raised concerns over the resurgence of counterfeit drugs in Nigeria, revealing that more than half of the medicines currently circulating in the country are fake or substandard.
Speaking ahead of the association’s 44th Annual International Conference scheduled to hold from July 22 to 27, 2025, in Awka, Anambra State, the ACPN chairman described the development as a national public health emergency that demands swift legislative and regulatory intervention.
In a statement, Igwekamma warned that Nigeria might be sliding back into a grim era reminiscent of the pre-2000s, when fake medicines were rampant and regulatory institutions were weakened.
According to the pharmacist, current ACPN research suggests that over 50 per cent of the drugs in the Nigerian pharmaceutical market are now fake, adding that this is a sharp contrast to the government’s official estimates of 13 to 15 per cent.
He blamed the recent surge on the collapse of enforcement mechanisms at both federal and state levels, lamenting that the once-active Federal Task Force and its state counterparts had become virtually moribund with negligible output in recent years.
He stated, “Our usually reliable and dependable research-based efforts indicate that we are back to the days of over 50 per cent of drugs in circulation being fake and substandard.
“The influx of fake drugs, foods, and especially drinks in Nigeria has become a major source of worry in contemporary times. The level of unwholesome products in the market today is alarming.”
The ACPN boss noted that fatalities and treatment failures were common outcomes of counterfeit medication use, warning that the country was witnessing a recurrence of that dark history.
“While the tenure of the late Prof. Dora Akunyili at NAFDAC offered temporary relief, the past five years have seen a significant resurgence in fake drug circulation,” he lamented.
Igwekamma commended recent efforts by NAFDAC, particularly its collaboration with the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria to shut down the notorious Sabon-Geri drug market following the launch of Nigeria’s first Coordinated Wholesale Centre in Kano State.
He added, “The Coordinated Wholesale Centres are designed to replace Open Drug Markets as stipulated in the National Drug Distribution Guidelines released in 2015. It is in this spirit of reform that we must continue to rescue Nigerians from over five million illegal drug-selling outlets scattered across urban and rural centres.”
The ACPN chairman also called on the National Assembly to urgently amend the Fake Drug and Unwholesome Processed Food Act.
He stressed that the current law lacks the strength needed to tackle the billion-naira illicit trade being operated by what he termed “modern-day merchants of death”.
Speaking on this year’s ACPN conference, Igwekamma said the gathering would focus on deploying technology and personalised pharmaceutical care as core strategies for transforming pharmacy practice in Nigeria.
“Technology integration is no longer optional. We must embrace artificial intelligence, telepharmacy, digital records, and patient-centred approaches to provide safer, smarter, and more accessible care to every Nigerian,” he noted.
