FG designates four Benue hospitals as snakebite treatment centres

The Federal Government has approved four health facilities for the treatment of snakebites in Benue State.

The facilities will also be stocked with government-procured anti-snake venom.

The state Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr Paul Ogwuche, disclosed this while briefing officials of the ministry at the state secretariat in Makurdi on Tuesday.

He said the facilities cut across the state’s three senatorial districts.

He said, “I am glad to announce to you that the Federal Government has approved four health facilities across the three senatorial districts of the state as snakebite treatment centres.

“The approval marks a significant step towards expanding access to life-saving treatment and advancing the state’s free snakebite treatment agenda under the administration of His Excellency, Governor Hyacinth Alia.”

Ogwuche listed the designated facilities as the General Hospital, Katsina-Ala, in Zone A; the University Teaching Hospital, Makurdi, and General Hospital, Gboko, both in Zone B; and the General Hospital, Otukpo, in Zone C.

He added that healthcare professionals at the designated facilities would benefit from specialised training in snakebite envenoming management to strengthen their capacity to provide timely and effective care.

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Appreciating the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Ali Pate, the commissioner said, “The federal approval demonstrates the value of collaboration between the state and federal governments in addressing critical public health challenges.

“Under the Federal Neglected Tropical Diseases Envenoming Programme, the designated centres are expected to receive government-procured anti-snake venom supplies, helping to reduce the financial burden of treatment on victims and supporting the implementation of the state’s free snakebite treatment initiative.”

Reaffirming the ministry’s commitment to working with relevant federal agencies and health institutions for the benefit of residents, Ogwuche said access to free, life-saving treatment would particularly benefit farmers and rural communities, where snakebites could threaten lives, livelihoods and household incomes.

He said the Alia administration’s vision was to ensure that no citizen lost their life or suffered financial hardship because they could not afford essential snakebite treatment.

Benue State is largely agrarian, with a significant proportion of its population engaged in farming, exposing residents, particularly those in rural communities, to snakebites.

Among the most vulnerable groups are displaced people living in overcrowded camps.

The Executive Secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency, James Iorpuu, disclosed last weekend that the agency had spent over N160m on treating internally displaced persons for snakebites in the past six months.

The development underscores efforts by the federal and state governments to strengthen healthcare services and protect residents’ lives and livelihoods.