KEY POINTS

• Senate urges FCTA and states to create coordinated emergency referral and response systems linking public and private hospitals.

• Lawmakers call for mandatory stocking of antidotes, national guidelines, hospital audits and staff training.

• Move follows the death of Abuja singer Ifunanya Nwangene and growing concerns over snakebite fatalities in Nigeria.

The Senate has called on the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) and state governments to establish coordinated emergency referral and response systems linking public and private hospitals, as part of efforts to improve access to life-saving treatment during medical emergencies.

The resolution followed the death of Abuja-based singer Ifunanya Nwangene, popularly known as Nanyah, who reportedly died after being bitten by a snake at her residence. Her death triggered public outrage and renewed national debate about Nigeria’s emergency healthcare readiness and access to critical antidotes.

The call was contained in a motion sponsored by Senator Oluranti Adebule (Lagos West) 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.”

Presenting the motion, Adebule said Nigeria continues to record rising cases of medical emergencies, including snakebites, scorpion stings, poisoning, drug overdoses and other forms of envenomation, many of which require immediate administration of specific antidotes to prevent death or long-term complications.

She described Nwangene’s death as tragic and avoidable, stressing that it exposed serious deficiencies in emergency preparedness and the availability of essential antidotes in both public and private health facilities.

Senate Tasks Health Ministry, NAFDAC on Antivenom Supply

The Senate urged the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to develop and enforce national guidelines prescribing minimum stock levels of essential antidotes and emergency medicines in designated public and private hospitals.

Lawmakers also called on the ministry, in collaboration with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), to ensure the procurement, quality assurance, proper storage and nationwide availability of safe, effective and affordable antivenoms, with special focus on high-risk regions.

State governments were asked to carry out immediate audits of public and private hospitals to determine compliance with approved antidote-stocking requirements and emergency preparedness standards.

In addition, relevant professional and regulatory bodies were mandated to strengthen emergency response protocols and ensure periodic training of healthcare workers on the correct administration of antidotes and emergency medicines.

The Senate further urged health regulatory authorities to make the availability of essential antidotes a mandatory condition for the licensing, registration and renewal of accreditation of private hospitals.