ABUJA – A Bill for an Act to provide for the prevention, control and management of cerebrospinal meningitis, on Tuesday scaled second reading in the House of Representatives.
The sponsor of the Bill, Rep. Aisha dukku (APC-Gombe) said that the bill when passed seeks to provide a legal framework for the prevention, control and management of meningitis in Nigeria.
According to her, Meningitis is a disease which comes with stiffness of the neck and can cause the death of a sufferer within 24 hours.
“The World Health Organization has recently warned of the outbreak of meningitis in Nigeria which is most prevalent in the northern part of the country where the heat is intense.”
Dukku leading the debate drew the attention of the house to the fact meningitis was a disease that affected mostly children from the ages of one to ten.
She added that in 2015 no fewer than 116 persons died of the disease.
Members who lend their voices to the debate lamented the reactive nature of the Nigerian government.
They however, adviced Nigerians to always keep their environment clean as well as ensure enough ventilation in their homes.
The House therefore, called on private organizations to partner with the Federal Government with a view to bringing an end to the deadly disease.
The Bill when put to a voice vote by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara, was unanimously adopted by members.
