By Deborah Nnamdi
The Senate has urged the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to develop and enforce national guidelines mandating minimum stock levels of essential antidotes and emergency medicines in designated public and private hospitals across Nigeria.
The resolution followed the consideration of a motion sponsored by Senator Adebule Idiat Oluranti (APC, Lagos West), which highlighted the urgent need for federal and state governments to ensure the availability, accessibility, and adequate stocking of life-saving antidotes and emergency drugs nationwide.
While presenting the motion, Oluranti, a former Lagos State deputy governor, noted that Nigeria continues to record rising cases of medical emergencies such as snakebites, scorpion stings, poisoning, drug overdoses, and other forms of envenomation, stressing that many deaths from such incidents are preventable with timely access to appropriate treatment.
The Senate expressed grave concern over the reported death of Miss Ifunanya Nwangene, an Abuja-based singer popularly known as Nanyah, who reportedly died after suffering a snakebite. Lawmakers described the incident as tragic and avoidable, saying it exposed serious lapses in emergency preparedness and the availability of antidotes in both public and private hospitals across the country.
Nwangene was said to have been bitten by a snake at her residence on Saturday and subsequently sought urgent medical attention at two hospitals in Abuja, where she was allegedly left untreated due to the unavailability of anti-venom.
As part of its resolutions, the Senate called on health regulatory authorities to make the stocking of essential antidotes a compulsory requirement for the licensing, registration, and renewal of accreditation of private hospitals. It also urged the government to ensure adequate budgetary provisions and efficient supply chains for public hospitals to maintain sufficient emergency drug stocks.
The Senate further directed the Federal Ministry of Information and the National Orientation Agency to intensify nationwide public sensitization campaigns on the importance of prompt hospital presentation after snakebites, poisoning, and other envenomation cases, warning against the dangers of delayed medical treatment.
