LAGOS/Nigeria: The Sustainable Research and Action for Environmental Development (SRADeV Nigeria) has faulted Nigeria’s continued failure to establish functional poison centres nationwide, warning that the gap is worsening fatalities from chemical poisoning and toxic exposure.
In a statement issued on Friday in Lagos, the Executive Director of the organisation, Leslie Adogame, said that despite a population exceeding 200 million, Nigeria has only one chemicals poison centre, located at the Raw Materials Research and Development Council in Abuja.
Adogame described the situation as unacceptable, noting that the lone centre remains largely unrecognised, poorly resourced, and inaccessible to the general public, thereby limiting its effectiveness during poisoning and toxic exposure emergencies.
“It is unfortunate that Nigeria has only one unrecognised poison centre, located far from major hospitals,” he said, stressing that the country’s situation falls far below global public health standards, particularly for a nation that has ratified key international chemical safety conventions.
According to him, the absence of decentralised poison centres across the country represents a major public health failure, often resulting in delayed medical intervention and avoidable deaths. He explained that functional poison centres serve as first-line emergency response hubs, offering immediate guidance on chemical exposure, pesticide poisoning, drug overdose, snake envenomation, and industrial accidents.
Adogame warned that without such centres, healthcare workers, emergency responders, and the public are left without timely toxicological support during critical emergencies. He cited a recent snakebite fatality in an urban area of Abuja as a stark reminder of the growing environmental and toxic risks confronting Nigerians.
The SRADeV boss also emphasised the importance of public awareness, including clearly defined emergency response information and the establishment of toll-free poison emergency hotlines accessible nationwide.
The organisation called on federal and state governments to urgently establish functional poison centres in all states of the federation, integrate poison emergency response systems into existing healthcare services, and invest in sustained public education campaigns on toxic exposure and emergency response.
“This is a long-standing gap that demands urgent political will and accountability. Lives depend on it,” Adogame stated.
The statement also quoted Victor Fabunmi, Senior Public Health Officer at SRADeV, who warned that the risks are even higher in rural communities.
“If snake envenomation can cause death in Abuja, rural communities face even greater danger,” Fabunmi said, attributing rising exposure risks to poor sanitation, overgrown environments, inadequate fumigation practices, and weak waste management systems across the country.
