Sustainable Research and Action for Environmental Development (SRADeV Nigeria) has decried Nigeria’s failure to establish functional poison centres despite rising cases of chemical poisoning and toxic exposure.
Dr Leslie Adogame, Executive Director, SRADeV Nigeria, stated this in a statement on Friday in Lagos.
Adogame said Nigeria, with over 200 million people, has only one chemicals poison centre located at the Raw Materials Research and Development Council, Abuja.
He noted that the centre remained largely unrecognised, under-resourced, and inaccessible to the public, worsening outcomes in poisoning and toxic exposure emergencies.
“It is unfortunate that Nigeria has only one unrecognised poison centre, located far from major hospitals,” Adogame, said.
He described the situation as unacceptable and far below global public health standards, especially for a country that has ratified international chemical conventions.
He said the absence of decentralised poison centres constitutes a public health failure, leading to delayed intervention and preventable deaths.
He explained that poison centres provided first-line emergency guidance for chemical exposure, pesticide poisoning, drug overdose, snake envenomation, and industrial accidents.
He stressed that the absence of poison centres leave healthcare workers, emergency responders, and citizens without timely toxicological support during emergencies.
The executive director cited a recent snakebite fatality in an urban area of Abuja as evidence of growing toxic and environmental risks.
He also stressed the need for public awareness, including clear emergency response information and toll-free poison emergency lines.
The organisation urged federal and state governments to establish functional poison centres in every state of the federation.
It also called for integrating poison emergency response systems into healthcare services and investing in nationwide public education campaigns.
“This is a long-standing gap requiring urgent political will and accountability.
“Lives depend on it,” Adogame said.
The statement quoted Mr Victor Fabunmi, Senior Public Health Officer at SRADeV as saying:
“If snake envenomation can cause death in Abuja, rural communities face even greater danger,”
Fabunmi attributed rising exposure risks to poor sanitation, overgrown environments, inadequate fumigation, and weak waste management systems.
