Kano State, located in northwest Nigeria, has been one of the most affected states in Nigeria's ongoing diphtheria outbreak, which started in 2023. Between January 2023 and December 2025, the state recorded more than 31,300 suspected cases and over 1,580 deaths, accounting for a significant proportion of the country's overall disease burden.

The outbreak has mainly affected children between the ages of 5 and 14 years, many of whom were unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated. Persistent gaps in routine immunisation coverage, high population density, overcrowded living conditions, delayed health-seeking behaviour, and limited access to quality healthcare have contributed to the continued transmission of the disease.

MSF has responded to the outbreak since 2023 by collaborating with the Kano state government to implement case management and community activities as preventive measures. Recently, MSF handed over the diphtheria emergency response after three years of support Over the course of the intervention, mortality rates dropped from 25% to 5% and more than 11,000 diphtheria patients received treatment through MSF-supported services, including both facility and home-based care.

During the intervention, MSF has successfully conducted two rounds of vaccination campaigns targeting children aged 24 months to 5 years for Penta vaccine and 5-14 years for TD vaccine. The vaccination campaign covered 20 wards in 9 Local Government Areas of Kano state. During the second round, from 20 to 24 June 2026, MSF, in collaboration with the Kano MoH, successfully vaccinated 486,948 children across 20 wards in Kano state, following a successful first round which reached 348,080 children and was completed on 27 April 2026.