Nigeria, an epidemic targeting children and the mass death of vultures reveal a continent’s fragile balance.
On April 13, 2025, as Nigeria’s Ministry of Health confirmed at least 151 deaths in a new wave of meningitis sweeping the country’s northern regions, rangers in Yankari National Park discovered two more dead vultures, likely poisoned. Two seemingly unrelated events, yet part of the same narrative: that of a human and ecological system increasingly vulnerable.
The Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) released figures showing over 2,000 suspected cases across 23 of the 36 federal states. Children under the age of fourteen are the most affected. The northern provinces, already burdened by poverty and instability, are facing a medical emergency made worse by a shortage of infrastructure and healthcare personnel. The arrival of 1.2 million vaccine doses through the Gavi alliance represents a significant step forward — but for many, it comes too late.
While meningitis threatens human life, particularly the young, the ongoing ecological crisis across parts of the Sahel and Central Africa is decimating a keystone species: the vulture. Often misperceived as ominous, these birds play a crucial role in maintaining ecological balance. Their decline is creating an environmental vacuum that allows disease-bearing carcasses to go unprocessed, increasing the risk of zoonotic outbreaks. According to the Vulture Conservation Foundation, some African vulture species have seen their populations shrink by up to 90% over the past three decades.
The causes are multiple: predators poisoned with pesticide-laced bait, contaminated carcasses, illegal trafficking for ritual practices, and rapid habitat loss. In Nigeria, this silent slaughter is most acute in the north and in border regions with Niger and Cameroon, where vultures frequently die from eating poisoned remains intended for lions and hyenas.
The link between these two crises — epidemic and ecological collapse — may not be immediately obvious, but it is structurally rooted. When health systems falter, and environmental safeguards break down, a grey zone emerges in which diseases spread more easily, scavengers vanish, and human vulnerability increases.
This is not only a Nigerian issue. It is a symptom of a systemic crisis in how we manage public health, relate to nature, and value life — both human and non-human — in areas often seen as peripheral. In truth, it is these very regions that form the true frontline of global survival.
Nigeria, an epidemic targeting children and the mass death of vultures reveal a continent’s fragile balance
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