Kano State Governor Umar Ganduje yesterday directed the state Ministry of Health to carry out verbal autopsy to determine the cause of the recent wave of strange deaths in the state.
Verbal autopsy is a method of gathering information about symptoms and circumstances for a deceased individual to determine their cause of death. Health information and a description of events prior to death are acquired from conversations or interviews with a person or persons familiar with the deceased. These are then analysed by health professionals or computer algorithms to assign likely cause(s) of death.
The governor, according to a statement issued by Commissioner for Information Muhammad Garba, directed a combined team from the Ministry of Health and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to undertake the investigation across the eight local government areas within Kano city.
The statement reads: “I am pleased to inform the good people of Kano State that verbal autopsy to determine the real cause of the deaths of our citizens who lost their lives over the weekend has begun in earnest.Following the directive of the governor, health experts from the state Ministry of Health and the NCDC have been drafted to visit the families and relatives of the dead so as to trace their medical history, with a view to ascertaining what really led to their deaths.
“Our primary healthcare system has also been re-activated across the 44 local government areas to guarantee easy access to healthcare delivery, even as we continue to battle the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic.”
Ganduje, who called for calm, urged residents to continue to adhere strictly to the advice by health experts on how to avoid contracting COVID-19.
“At this point, all of us must come together, irrespective of religious and political affiliations, to overcome this health challenge facing our great state.
“We solicit the cooperation of religious leaders, political leaders, opinion leaders, community leaders, traditional rulers and every other stakeholder to enlighten our people on the need to stay safe and stay healthy.
“The state government also wishes to passionately appeal to residents to religiously observe the lockdown order, stay at home, observe personal hygiene, wash their hands regularly, observe social distancing and also pray fervently for the end of this dark era of the novel COVID-19 pandemic.
“Together, we shall win this war. This turbulent time shall pass away. We shall come out stronger and better; and our dear state will be great again,” he added.
At the weekend, the Kano State government had acknowledged and decried the rising death rates in the state, although it declared none was caused by COVID-19.
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