MSF vaccinates 835,000 children to conclude Kano diphtheria response

Médecins Sans Frontières, also known as Doctors Without Borders, has ended its three-year emergency response to the diphtheria outbreak in Kano State after supporting the vaccination of more than 835,000 children and treating over 14,700 patients during one of Nigeria’s worst outbreaks of the disease.

The humanitarian medical organisation announced on Monday that the intervention, carried out in partnership with the Kano State Ministry of Health, concluded with a large-scale vaccination campaign aimed at protecting children from the highly infectious disease.

This is contained in a statement by Abdoul-Aziz Djibrilla, the MSF Project Coordinator for Kano, and made available to newsmen on Monday.

According to the statement, since launching the emergency response in early 2023, MSF had treated 14,707 children through its treatment centres and supported facilities, providing both hospital-based and home-based care while strengthening referral systems, disease surveillance, data management and community engagement.

The organisation said two rounds of vaccination were conducted in 2026, with 348,080 children vaccinated during the first phase, which ended on April 27, and another 486,948 children immunised across 20 wards between June 20 and 24. Together, the campaigns delivered more than 835,000 doses of diphtheria vaccine.

Djibrilla said the outbreak had placed an enormous burden on families and the state’s healthcare system.
“Kano experienced a critical diphtheria outbreak that placed enormous pressure on families, healthcare workers and health facilities.

“Although the number of cases has declined in recent months, mainly due to mass vaccination campaigns, the disease remains a serious health threat to children in Kano, driven by low immunisation coverage, overcrowding, delayed care-seeking, and malnutrition,” he said.

Data from the Kano State Ministry of Health showed that more than 31,900 suspected cases and over 1,260 deaths—most of them children—were recorded in the state between March 2022 and March 22, 2026, making Kano one of the worst-affected states in Nigeria’s ongoing diphtheria outbreak.

National figures from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that 65,759 suspected cases and 2,229 deaths had been reported nationwide as of March 22, 2026.

At the peak of the outbreak between late 2025 and early 2026, MSF said health facilities supported by the organisation admitted more than 100 children daily for treatment, with some centres operating beyond their bed capacity as healthcare workers struggled to meet growing demand”, the statement noted.

Diphtheria is a vaccine-preventable bacterial infection spread mainly through respiratory droplets or contact with infected wounds. It primarily affects children, especially those who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, and can lead to severe complications including breathing difficulties, heart damage, paralysis and death if left untreated.

Despite the successful emergency response, MSF cautioned that thousands of children remain vulnerable because of immunity gaps and called for sustained investment in routine immunisation and disease surveillance.

“Continued commitment from health authorities and partners to sustain high immunisation coverage, strengthen surveillance, and ensure timely access to quality treatment will be critical to preventing future outbreaks and protecting the lives of children in Kano,” Djibrilla added.