FG Designates Four Benue Hospitals as Snakebite Treatment Centres

The Federal Government has approved four health facilities in Benue State as designated snakebite treatment centres to improve access to emergency care and reduce the financial burden on victims.

The state Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr Paul Ogwuche, announced the approval on Tuesday, October 20, while briefing officials of the ministry at the state secretariat in Makurdi.

Ogwuche said the designated facilities were distributed across the state’s three senatorial districts to expand access to treatment, particularly for residents of rural communities.

The approved centres are General Hospital, Katsina-Ala, in Zone A; Benue State University Teaching Hospital, Makurdi, and General Hospital, Gboko, in Zone B; and General Hospital, Otukpo, in Zone C.

He described the approval as an important step towards advancing the state government’s free snakebite treatment initiative under Governor Hyacinth Alia’s administration.

According to the commissioner, the facilities are expected to receive government-procured anti-snake venom under the Federal Neglected Tropical Diseases Envenoming Programme.

Healthcare professionals at the centres will also undergo specialised training in snakebite envenoming management to improve their capacity to provide timely and effective treatment.

Ogwuche commended the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, and the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare for supporting the initiative.

He said collaboration between the federal and state governments was essential to addressing snakebite as a public health challenge, particularly in communities where farming and other outdoor activities increase exposure to snakes.

The commissioner added that access to free treatment would help protect farmers, rural residents and other vulnerable groups from avoidable deaths and financial hardship.

Benue is predominantly an agrarian state, and snakebites remain a concern for people working on farms and living in rural settlements. Internally displaced persons are also among those exposed to the risk.

The Executive Secretary of the Benue State Emergency Management Agency, James Iorpuu, recently disclosed that the state had spent more than ₦160 million treating internally displaced persons for snakebites between March and September 2026.

The new designation is expected to strengthen access to specialised care, although the effectiveness of the programme will depend on the availability of antivenom, trained personnel and timely treatment at the approved facilities.

The state government says it remains committed to working with federal agencies and healthcare institutions to ensure that residents can access life-saving treatment without prohibitive costs.