No More Snakebite Deaths As Senate Orders Hospitals to Stock Anti-Venom or Shut Down

By Patrick Isaac

Nigeria’s Senate has mandated all hospitals nationwide especially in snake-infested zones to stockpile anti-venom and vital antidotes immediately, tying compliance to licensing in a bold bid to halt preventable tragedies.

The resolution erupted after Senator Idiat Adebule (Lagos West) raised a motion on the heartbreaking death of Ifunanya Nwangene, a young Nigerian who died from a snakebite when the hospitals she was taken for treatment lacked anti-venom.

“It is heartbreaking that in this day and age, a young Nigerian could lose her life simply because a hospital did not have access to basic anti-venom,” Adebule lamented.

Senators united in outrage during the debate
“This is a systemic failure that requires urgent legislative and executive intervention.”
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Senator Sunday Karimi (Kogi West), emphasised that states with high incidences of snakebites must be prioritised.

“In many parts of the country, snakebites are a common occurrence, yet our hospitals are grossly unprepared. This resolution is about saving lives and enforcing accountability,” he said.

Senator Anthony Ani (Ebonyi South) went further, “We must go beyond resolutions. Hospitals that cannot meet basic emergency care standards should not be allowed to operate.”

Echoing rural anguish, Senator Titus Zam (Benue North-West) declared, “The poor and those in remote communities bear the brunt of these failures. Ensuring access to anti-venom is a matter of social justice.”

Senate President Godswill Akpabio sealed the mandate, calling Nwangene’s death “deeply saddening and unacceptable.”

“This is a loss that should never have happened. As a nation, we must do better to protect the lives of our citizens,” he vowed, before leading a somber minute of silence for the late Ifunanya.