Nigeria's Lassa fever outbreak has spread to 21 states and 103 local government areas this year, with four states, Ondo, Bauchi, Edo and Taraba, accounting for about 89 per cent of all confirmed cases, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC). Ondo recorded the highest number of infections, followed by Bauchi, Edo, and Taraba.
The NCDC said young adults aged 21 to 30 were the most affected group, although infections were reported across all age brackets, from one to 96 years. Cases were slightly higher among males than females. while no new infections among healthcare workers were recorded during the week under review.
The agency added that it continues to coordinate a national multi-partner response through its Lassa fever Technical Working Group. Ongoing interventions include behavioural assessments in high-burden states, training of healthcare workers, infection prevention and control audits, community sensitisation, deployment of rapid response teams, and the strengthening of laboratory and treatment capacity.
Meanwhile, the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) has disclosed that Nigeria currently has only one World Health Organisation (WHO)-prequalified antimalarial product, highlighting a major gap in local pharmaceutical capacity.
The disclosure was made at a four-day technical support and capacity-building workshop for pharmaceutical companies held in Lagos under the National Malaria Elimination Programme, with support from the World Bank. The workshop aimed to equip local manufacturers with the skills needed to meet WHO prequalification standards and access the global antimalarial market, estimated at $161 million.
NIPRD said the only WHO-prequalified antimalarial product in Nigeria is manufactured by Swiss Pharma Nigeria, underscoring the urgent need to expand local participation. The training focused on guiding companies through the WHO prequalification application process, including documentation requirements, bioavailability and bioequivalence studies, and laboratory quality assurance systems.
Speaking on the objective of the programme, NIPRD Director-General, Dr Obi Adigwe, said the workshop was designed to provide hands-on technical support on the WHO prequalification process. Represented by his technical adviser, Dr Mercy Aboh, he identified limited awareness, funding constraints, outdated equipment and weak technical capacity as key barriers to local manufacturers.
Although the WHO prequalification process is capital-intensive, Adigwe said participants were exposed to funding opportunities and government-backed support mechanisms. Other stakeholders, including project managers and industry experts, said attaining WHO prequalification would enable Nigerian manufacturers to compete both locally and internationally and unlock significant economic opportunities.
