…43,000 Nigerians Bitten Annually, Nearly 2,000 Fatalities Reported
…Each Dose Costs Up To N250,000, Straining Public Health Budgets
…Govt Urged To Equip Grassroots Health Centres Urgently
Daud Olatunji
Nigeria is facing a deadly health crisis as rural communities continue to lose lives to snakebites, with 43,000 reported cases and nearly 2,000 deaths every year.
The country’s 30,000 Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) remain largely unequipped to treat snakebite victims, with anti-venom costing between N180,000 and N250,000 per dose. Severe cases can require up to five doses, putting enormous pressure on public health budgets.
… A life lost too soon
The tragic death of 52-year-old Martha Ejembi, a peanut farmer from Benue State, highlights the dangers. Bitten on her farm, she was rushed to her local PHC which had no anti-venom and then referred to a General Hospital. She later died en route to Abuja.
“My mother’s condition worsened as we kept moving from one hospital to another. She died on our way to Abuja,” said Patience Ejembi, her daughter and a registered nurse.
Another recent death, that of 26-year-old singer Ifunanya in Abuja, has sparked national outrage over the scarcity of anti-venom in public hospitals.
… Hospitals ill-equipped
Experts warn that 50% of rural hospitals cannot manage snakebites, despite Nigeria having 29 snake species, 41% of which are venomous.
Nicholas Amani, Medical Director at the Snakebite Treatment and Research Hospital in Kaltungo, Gombe State, said:
“Most victims are farmers, traders, and rural residents with no political voice. While 60% of patients recover with a single dose, complex cases require up to five doses — making treatment very expensive.”
Global scarcity, local impact
Anti-venom is scarce worldwide, partly because a gram of snake venom sells for $4,000 internationally. Iskil Mustapha, a wildlife conservationist, recalled families at University
College Hospital, Ibadan, searching 12 pharmacies for anti-venom — only for one patient to die before treatment.
Other countries with high snakebite burdens, like Brazil, Kenya, India, and Indonesia, face similar shortages.
…Urgent calls for action
Stakeholders are urging the Federal Government to invest in local production and subsidise anti-venom, particularly in high-risk states such as Gombe, which records 10,000 cases yearly.
Amani stressed:
“Subsidised anti-venom improves outcomes significantly compared to out-of-pocket payments.”
Experts also urge rural residents to keep their surroundings clean, avoid bushy paths at night, and seek immediate care if bitten.
With snakebite deaths rising, equipping PHCs with anti-venom is no longer optional — it is a matter of life and death for Nigeria’s rural poor.
Source : Busineday
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