Rotary donates N13 million worth anti-snake venom drugs in Gombe

BY NAJIB SANI, GOMBE

Rotary International has brought succour to snake bite victims in Gombe State as it donated over N13 million worth of anti snake venom drugs to the Kaltungo Snake Bite Hospital and Research Centre in Kaltungo local government, Gombe State.

Vice Assistant Governor of Rotary International, Mohammed Dantata who presented the drug on Saturday explained that the intervention was meant to assist the victims due to the scarcity and cost of the drugs.

“The scarcity of anti-venom drugs in Nigeria prompted our intervention,” he stated.

He called for the judicious utilisation of the drugs in the state and promised that the organisation was ever ready to bring more support to state, citing the provision of polio and measles vaccines for immunisation across the 11 local government areas as their latest health intervention in the state.

In his remarks, the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of the Kaltungo Snake Bite Hospital and Research Centre, Dr Nicolas Amani, who received the drugs, lauded the Rotary’s intervention saying anti-snake venoms drugs are scarce and very expensive for less privileged patients to purchase.

He described the centre as the largest in the north adding that at present, there were not less than 34 patients under treatment at the hospital.

Nicholas assured that the donation would be given to deserving patients.

Chairman of Kaltungo local government, Iliya Suleiman Jatau, expressed gratitude to Rotary for the support noting that the donation would help snakebite victims, mostly farmers, who cannot afford the costly treatment. “This donation will provide relief to those in need,” he said.

Our correspondent reports that the Kaltungo Snake Bite Hospital and Research Centre is one of the primary treatment centres in Nigeria, particularly in the north where poisonous snakes are prevalent.