Snakebite: Senate urges FCT, States to establish coordinated emergency response systems

By Henry Umoru

ABUJA- DISTURBED by increasing cases of medical emergencies, including snakebites, scorpion stings, poisoning, drug overdoses, and other forms of envenomation, the Senate has urged the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) and all State Governments to establish coordinated emergency referral and response systems linking public and private hospitals.

According to the Senate, the move will ensure timely access to life-saving medicines during emergencies.

The Upper Chamber has called on the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, through relevant agencies and regulatory bodies, to develop and enforce national guidelines prescribing minimum stock levels of essential antidotes and emergency medicines in designated public and private hospitals across Nigeria.

The Senate has also urged the Federal Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), to ensure procurement, quality assurance, proper storage, and nationwide availability of safe, effective, and affordable antivenoms and critical antidotes for use in public and private hospitals, with priority attention to high-risk regions.

Resolutions of the Senate on Tuesday were sequel to a motion titled, “Urgent Need for the Federal and State Governments to ensure adequate stocking, availability, and access to life-saving antidotes and emergency medicines in Public and Private Hospitals across Nigeria.

The motion was sponsored by Senator Idiat Oluranti Adebule, APC, Lagos West.

Recall that an Abuja-based singer, Ifunanya Nwangene, popularly known as Nanyah, had died after suffering a snake bite at her residence on Saturday.

According to reports, Nwangene sought urgent medical attention at two different hospitals but was reportedly left untreated due to the unavailability of anti-venom at both facilities.

The Upper Chamber has called on State Governments, through their Ministries of Health and Hospital Management Boards, to conduct immediate audits of public and private hospitals within their jurisdictions to ascertain compliance with approved antidote-stocking and emergency preparedness standards.

It has mandated relevant professional and regulatory bodies to strengthen emergency response standards and require periodic training on the administration of antidotes for healthcare personnel working in public and private hospitals.

The Senate has also called on health regulatory authorities to make the stocking of essential antidotes a mandatory condition for the licensing, registration, and renewal of accreditation of private hospitals, while ensuring adequate budgetary provision and supply mechanisms for public hospitals.

The Upper Chamber has directed the Federal Ministry of Information and the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to implement nationwide public sensitization campaigns on the importance of prompt hospital presentation following snakebites, other poisoning, and envenomation, and the dangers associated with delayed medical treatment.

The Senate has also direct the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development to strengthen building regulations under the National Building Code by making Non-Return Valves (NRVs) mandatory in construction to allow waste to exit while blocking rodents and snakes from entering buildings via drainage systems.

The Senate observed a minute silence in honour of late Ifunanya Nwangene.

Earlier in her presentation, Senator Adebule said that the “Senate: Notes that Nigeria continues to record increasing cases of medical emergencies, including snakebites, scorpion stings, poisoning, drug overdoses, and other forms of envenomation, all of which require the immediate administration of specific antidotes and emergency medicines in both public and private hospitals in order to prevent avoidable deaths and irreversible health complications;

“Also notes with grave concern the tragic and avoidable death of Miss Ifunanya Nwangene, who reportedly died following a snakebite in Abuja thereby revealing serious gaps in emergency preparedness and antidote availability within public and private hospitals in Nigeria”

According to her, the Senate is ‘aware that the World Health Organization (WHO) classifies snakebite envenoming as a neglected tropical disease and underscores the critical importance of timely access to safe and effective antivenoms in public and private hospitals, particularly in countries such as Nigeria where snakebite incidents remain prevalent;

“Also aware that Section 17(3)(d) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), mandates the State to ensure the provision of suitable and adequate medical and health facilities for all persons, while Section 14(2)(b) affirms that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government, obligations which necessarily extend to regulation, supervision, and standard-setting for public and private hospitals”

Senator Adebule further said that the Senate is “concerned that a significant number of public and private hospitals across Nigeria do not stock essential life-saving antidotes such as antivenoms and anti-toxins, or maintain insufficient quantities, leading to dangerous delays in treatment, unnecessary referrals, and preventable loss of lives;

“Also concerned that victims of snakebites and other poisoning emergencies are frequently compelled to move from one public hospital to a private hospital, or vice versa, in search of antidotes during the critical “golden hour,” thereby substantially increasing mortality and morbidity rates;

“Worried that the absence of mandatory antidote-stocking requirements for private and public hospitals, weak enforcement mechanisms affecting public hospitals poor supply chain systems, high costs of antidotes, and lack of standard emergency response protocols collectively undermine effective emergency healthcare delivery in public and private hospitals nationwide; and Convinced that enforcing the mandatory availability, adequate stocking, and equitable distribution of essential antidotes and emergency medicines in both public and private hospitals will significantly reduce preventable deaths, improve emergency response outcomes, and strengthen public confidence in Nigeria’s healthcare system.”

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