Ifunanya Nwangene was asleep last Saturday morning in her ground-floor apartment in Nigeria's capital when she was awoken at around 08:00 by a searing pain on her wrist. Her father, Christopher Nwangene, recounted the harrowing moment when a snake emerged on her bed and bit her.
As a celebrated soprano who gained fame on the local version of 'The Voice,' Ifunanya recognized the immediate need for antivenom. In her panic, she applied a tourniquet to her arm—an outdated practice that can worsen injury—and rushed to the hospital, only to find there was no antivenom available.
This tragic incident has stirred alarm regarding the healthcare system's capacity to deal with snakebites in Nigeria, where hospitals often lack life-saving antivenom despite the country having the world's third-highest incidence of snakebite cases.
After attempts to procure antivenom led to delays, Nwangene was put on a drip, but her condition declined rapidly. Friends and family members who rushed to her aid also experienced overwhelming concern as they sought additional vials of antivenom—some were reportedly turned away.
Critics, including Ifunanya's father, have accused the hospital of negligence, claiming that more could have been done to treat her. In Nigeria, the average of 20,000 snakebites reported annually underscores a broader public health emergency that is often dismissed as a rural problem.
As the federal government faces increasing pressure to address the challenges related to snakebites, including the need for effective antivenom distribution and awareness programs, Ifunanya's death has become a catalyst for urgent reforms in healthcare policies, pushing for better preparedness to save lives from such neglected diseases.
