The United Nations Children’s Fund has taken swift action in response to the most severe diphtheria outbreak globally in recent history by deploying 9.3 million doses of diphtheria vaccines to affected states in Nigeria.

According to a statement from UNICEF communication assistant Nchekwube Nwosu-Igbo, these vaccine doses have been distributed to Kano, Bauchi, Borno, Yobe, Katsina, Kaduna, and Jigawa States. Kano, the main area with the outbreak, will receive four million doses.

The statement further revealed that an additional four million d doses are on the way and will be given to the government in the coming weeks.

So far, this outbreak has caused over 11,500 suspected cases, and 453 people have died. Many of those affected are children between 4 and 15 years old who never got the vaccine. Most affected are children aged between 4 to 15 years have not received any vaccination.

In Nigeria, there are 2.2 million children who haven’t had any vaccines, which is the second-highest number in the world.

UNICEF is working hard to reduce this number and make sure all children are protected from preventable diseases.