Abuja, Nigeria
—
Ifunanya Nwangene, a budding singer who captivated audiences together with her efficiency of Rihanna’s “Take a Bow” on “The Voice Nigeria,” has died from a snake chunk. She was 26.
The incident occurred at her dwelling in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, on Saturday when she was bitten on the wrist by a cobra whereas sleeping, based on Sam Ezugwu, the chief of the Amemuso Choir, of which she was a member.
Footage circulating on social media reveals a snake handler eradicating a medium-sized snake from her condo. Two snakes have been extracted in complete, Ezugwu mentioned.
“She died in my hands,” mentioned her closest pal, Paschal Nworgu.
Nworgu informed NCS he was by her bedside on the hospital she visited after a close-by clinic, the place she’d initially sought remedy, knowledgeable her that they’d no antivenom.
Nworgu mentioned that he’d arrived on the hospital, Federal Medical Center, Jabi, with Ezugwu at round midday on Saturday, two hours after receiving a WhatsApp message from Nwangene informing him {that a} snake had bitten her.
Upon their arrival, Nworgu mentioned, they’d met her gasping for breath as medical doctors tried to stabilize her. “She was not talking. She was only giving hand gestures,” Nworgu mentioned.
Ezugwu mentioned that, though Nwangene acquired one crucial antivenom at Federal Medical Center, Jabi, one other wanted for her remedy was unavailable on the facility.
“Unfortunately, the one they injected her (with) was the last dose left in the pharmacy of the hospital, so they requested us to buy more,” he informed NCS.
The Federal Medical Center, Jabi has disputed that it ran out of antivenom and stood by the care its workers offered.
Ezugwu mentioned he went searching for the antivenom, solely to be taught of Nwangene’s demise moments later.
The hospital mentioned in an announcement Sunday that workers had “acted promptly and with the utmost care” upon Nwagene’s arrival, but it surely mentioned she was affected by extreme neurotoxic issues.
“Our medical staff provided immediate and appropriate treatment, including resuscitation efforts, intravenous fluids, intranasal oxygen, and the administration of polyvalent snake antivenom,” the assertion added.
However, Nwagene “experienced a sudden deterioration” simply earlier than being transferred to the Intensive Care Unit, the hospital mentioned, including that workers tried CPR and “other life-saving measures,” however have been unable to save lots of her.
“We stand by the quality of care and dedication our team demonstrates daily. The claims of non-availability of anti-snake venom and inadequate response are unfounded and do not reflect the reality of the situation,” the hospital assertion mentioned.
The Amemuso Choir mourned the loss of Nwangene, describing her as “a rising star” who “was on the cusp of sharing her incredible talent with the world.”
Ezugwu paid tribute to her as “an embodiment of music,” highlighting her versatility in each classical and pop genres. Nworgu, who usually carried out alongside her, shared that one in every of her greatest goals was to sing on Broadway.
Recently, Nwangene had accomplished French courses and left her job as an architect to deal with her music profession, Nworgu mentioned.
“I feel dead, I can’t count how many times I’ve broken down,” he mentioned, calling her demise “the most traumatizing thing of my life.”
Nwangene’s demise has sparked widespread outrage amongst Nigerians, many expressing their discontent with the nation’s well being care system.
Human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, wrote on X: “The tragic death of Ifunanya Nwangene from snake bite is a reminder of the poor state of healthcare in Nigeria. Emergency medical care in this country is terrible. Her death isn’t due to spiritual attack, it’s as a result of failure of get quick care.”
In response to the general public outcry, Nigeria’s well being ministry shared the assertion from the Federal Medical Centre, Jabi expressing condolences to Nwangene’s household.
Last month, Nigeria’s Health Minister Muhammad Ali Pate acknowledged that the nation’s well being care system faces “systemic challenges in ensuring consistent quality of care and patient safety” and introduced the formation of a nationwide activity power to deal with these points.
The creation of this activity power got here after widespread outrage over the demise of famend creator Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s 21-month-old son at a Lagos hospital. The novelist’s authorized representatives accused the hospital of negligence, a declare that the hospital has denied.
“Snake bite is a neglected public health issue in many tropical and subtropical countries,” according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which estimates that greater than 5 million persons are bitten by snakes every year, leading to about 100,000 deaths yearly.
“Most of these occur in Africa, Asia and Latin America,” the WHO mentioned. It famous in a 2018 report that there had been issues concerning the “low availability of safe, effective antivenom immunoglobulin products for the Sub-Saharan African region.”