The Senate has urged the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, working with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, to guarantee the procurement, quality assurance, proper storage, and nationwide distribution of safe, effective, and affordable antivenoms and other critical antidotes, with particular attention to high-risk areas across the country.
The call followed the death of Abuja-based singer Ifunanya Nwangene, who, it was gathered, died after suffering a snakebite and being unable to access antivenom treatment in time, an incident that triggered public outrage and renewed scrutiny of the country’s emergency healthcare readiness.
The resolution followed deliberations on the growing incidence of medical emergencies requiring rapid intervention, as lawmakers stressed that timely access to life-saving antidotes remains a major gap in Nigeria’s healthcare system.
The Senate also called on state governments and the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, to urgently set up coordinated emergency referral and response systems connecting public and private hospitals, amid rising concerns over preventable deaths linked to delayed medical care.
Lawmakers said an integrated referral framework would help ensure swift access to essential, life-saving medicines in emergencies such as snakebites, scorpion stings, poisoning, and drug overdoses, where delays often prove fatal.
The resolution was adopted after consideration of a motion sponsored by Senator Idiat Oluranti Adebule, titled “Urgent Need for the Federal and State Governments to ensure adequate stocking, availability, and access to life-saving antidotes and emergency medicines in Public and Private Hospitals across Nigeria.”
The motion was prompted by widespread reactions to Nwangene’s death, which gained national attention after her church choir announced the incident in a Facebook post signed by its Music Director, Sam Ezugwu.
According to reports, the singer sought urgent care at two hospitals but could not be treated due to the unavailability of antivenom. The Federal Medical Centre, Abuja, where she was later taken, said its medical team made concerted efforts to save her life, but the attempts were unsuccessful.
Presenting the motion, Adebule warned that Nigeria was witnessing a troubling rise in emergency cases requiring immediate medical intervention, noting that gaps in hospital preparedness were contributing to avoidable deaths.
“Nigeria continues to record increasing cases of medical emergencies, including snakebites, scorpion stings, poisoning, drug overdoses, and other forms of envenomation, all of which require the immediate administration of specific antidotes and emergency medicines in both public and private hospitals to prevent avoidable deaths and irreversible health complications,” she said.
She added, “We also note with grave concern the tragic and avoidable death of Miss Ifunanya Nwangene, who reportedly died following a snakebite in Abuja, thereby revealing serious gaps in emergency preparedness and antidote availability within public and private hospitals in Nigeria.”
The senator cited the World Health Organisation’s classification of snakebite envenoming as a neglected tropical disease, underscoring the need for prompt access to safe and effective antivenoms, especially in countries like Nigeria where such incidents are frequent.
She further noted that many public and private hospitals either do not stock essential antidotes such as antivenoms and anti-toxins or keep them in insufficient quantities, leading to dangerous delays, repeated referrals, and preventable loss of life.
According to her, victims are often forced to move between facilities during the critical golden hour in search of antidotes, a situation that significantly increases mortality and long-term health complications.
Beyond urging the Health Ministry and NAFDAC to ensure nationwide availability of antidotes, lawmakers also called on state governments to immediately audit public and private hospitals to assess compliance with stocking requirements and emergency preparedness standards.
The Senate further directed relevant professional and regulatory bodies to strengthen emergency response protocols and mandate regular training for healthcare workers on the correct administration of antidotes.
It also urged health regulators to make the availability of essential antidotes a mandatory condition for licensing, registration, and renewal of accreditation for private hospitals, while ensuring adequate budgetary provisions and supply systems for public health facilities.
Additionally, lawmakers appealed to the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development to enforce provisions of the National Building Code by making Non-Return Valves compulsory in buildings to prevent snakes and rodents from entering homes through drainage systems.
During the plenary session, senators observed a minute of silence in honour of the late Ifunanya Nwangene.
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