The Jos North Local Government has intensified disease surveillance and community sensitisation as health authorities work to contain a diphtheria outbreak in Plateau State.

The council’s chairman, John Christopher, on Saturday handed over motorcycles to the local government’s health directorate to strengthen field surveillance, contact tracing and community outreach across the area.

The development is expected to enable health workers to reach communities more quickly, conduct follow-up visits, collect samples and identify suspected cases, particularly in areas that are difficult to access.

The intervention comes amid reported diphtheria cases in the area, where 117 suspected cases and 15 deaths had been recorded as of 1 September, according to health authorities.

Plateau State has also reported suspected cases in Jos South, Bassa and Wase local government areas.

The state government has ordered the temporary closure of public and private primary and secondary schools from Monday as part of measures to contain the spread of the disease.

In Jos North, the council has been working with the state Ministry of Health to strengthen surveillance, case management and community mobilisation.

Mr Christopher said the additional logistics were necessary to ensure that health workers could respond promptly to suspected cases.

“For us, the health and safety of our people remain a priority. Diphtheria spreads fast, and we cannot afford delays,” he said during the handover.

“These motorcycles will help you reach every corner. Be proactive, be professional and make sure no community is left behind.”

The director of health of the council, Martha Kummiap, said the motorcycles would improve the directorate’s ability to conduct regular field visits and trace people who may have been exposed.

“This will change how we work. We can now do daily visits, trace contacts faster and get suspected cases to the health facility before it’s too late,” Ms Kummiap said.

She said the collaboration with the state Ministry of Health had also provided training and supplies to support health workers involved in the outbreak response.

The council said it had commenced radio sensitisation and community outreach to educate residents about diphtheria and measures to reduce transmission.

READ ALSO: Jos University Teaching Hospital’s psychiatric facility stretched as mental health cases rise

Diphtheria is a vaccine-preventable bacterial disease that can spread through respiratory droplets and close contact. It can cause serious complications and death when treatment is delayed.

Health authorities have urged parents and caregivers to ensure that children receive routine vaccinations and advised residents to seek medical attention promptly when symptoms such as sore throat, fever or difficulty breathing occur.

Mr Christopher also urged residents to cooperate with health workers during surveillance and contact-tracing activities.

“We are custodians of our communities. If we keep our drainages clean, if we report early, if we support the health teams when they come around, we will defeat this,” he said.

The council said it would continue working with the Plateau State Ministry of Health and other partners to strengthen surveillance and response until the outbreak is contained.

The All Progressives Congress, APC, in Anambra State has protested the exclusion of the party and its women in the arrangements for the visit of the First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, to the state on Thursday.

Though the party leadership congratulated and welcomed the First Lady to the state, it added that the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, is deceiving President Bola Tinubu with the impression that they are working together, whereas the APC in Anambra is being alienated from national activities.

In a statement issued on Monday in Awka, signed by the state secretary, Sir Obi Okpala, and made available to reporters, APC said the party only knew about the arrangements through the announcement by the Office of the First Lady of Anambra State, Dr Nonye Soludo.

The statement read, “The Anambra State APC warmly welcomes Her Excellency, Senator Oluremi Tinubu CON, to our dear state and appreciates her unwavering commitment to the empowerment, welfare and economic advancement of Nigerian women, particularly her initiative to empower thousands of women across the Southeast.

“However, the Anambra State APC is constrained to express its concern and disappointment that, as of the time of issuing this statement, the leadership of the All Progressives Congress in Anambra State, including its women leadership and recognised party structures, have neither been formally invited nor meaningfully carried along in the arrangements for this important visit.

“As the leading political party at the national level and a major political stakeholder in Anambra State, we believe that an official visit by the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, particularly one centred on the empowerment of women, should transcend partisan considerations and provide an opportunity for broad participation, consultation and inclusion.

“It is therefore difficult for us to reconcile the apparent exclusion of the APC and its women structures with the repeated public narrative of “Progressives Are Working Together”

“The Rhetorics of Progressives Working Together is only intended for the National Television shows as APGA as a party is not marketing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his achievements in the state  but using it to hoodwink APC leadership and also to confuse the gullible public into voting APGA candidates in the National  and State Assembly Elections.

“We believe that this should not be interpreted as an attempt to politicise your humanitarian and empowerment programme, but rather as an appeal for greater inclusion and recognition of all relevant stakeholders in the spirit of national unity.

“The APC has been structured and strengthened to deliver Mr President in Anambra State, we totally reject the rhetoric of Progressives are working together because is not tenable anywhere rather they are confusing Mr President with the 25 percent narrative which they know they are not capable of producing considering their background, because all their media communications are demarketing Mr President and APC.”