Kaltungo Snakebite Hospital: How a hospital in Gombe became the North’s lifeline -and now a national centre

By David Hassan

On a dusty afternoon in 2014 in Bojude village, Kwami Local Government Area, Alhaji Abubakar Adamu was cutting grass on his farmland with his siblings when a sudden strike sent pain shooting through his leg. It was a snake. Instinct took over. The brothers killed the snake, tied a rope tightly above the bite to slow the venom, and rushed home. But home was not the end. The next journey would determine whether Abubakar lived or died. And that would a trip of over 100 kilometers to Kaltungo, to the only place in Northern Nigeria that could treat him — the Snakebite Treatment and Research Hospital. “I was asked if I came with the snake,” Abubakar told People’s Daily weeks after his recovery. “I didn’t have it. So one of my brothers went back to the farm the next day, found it, and brought it to the doctor. That snake helped the doctor know the exact medicine to give me.”

That story, repeated in different forms across 19 northern states, is why last month’s decision by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to upgrade the Kaltungo facility to a National Snakebite Centre has been received with relief and with new hope. The FEC approval signed off in Abuja effectively moves the hospital from a state facility to a national asset. For patients in Gombe, Borno, Yobe, Bauchi, Plateau, Benue, Taraba, and even across borders in Cameroon and Niger Republic, the approval means more drugs, more specialists, more research, and hopefully, fewer deaths on the road.

Snakebite is not treated like malaria or typhoid in Nigeria. It is seasonal, rural, and deadly. And for decades, the North East bore the brunt. Gombe State, particularly Kaltungo and Balanga LGAs, has some of the highest incidence rates in Nigeria. During rainy season and harvest, farmers, herders, and children are most at risk. Before 2010, the only option was traditional treatment — herbs, incisions, tourniquets — methods that often made things worse. It was under the administration of former Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, now Senator representing Gombe North, that the state government decided to act. The vision was simple to build a dedicated hospital, not just a ward, that would treat snakebite cases and also research antivenom. The idea was not limited to Gombe. From the beginning, planners said the facility was meant for the North East first, then Nigeria, and then the Sahel region, because of the prevalence of snakebite in parts of the country and the region. That foresight paid off, and within five years of operation, Kaltungo became a referral point. Patients were coming from Adamawa, Taraba, Plateau, Nasarawa, and from across the border. Doctors from Cameroon and Niger Republic would call ahead to confirm antivenom stock before bringing patients.

Unlike a general hospital, Kaltungo is specialized. It has an emergency unit for envenomation, a laboratory for snake identification, and a pharmacy that stocks polyvalent antivenom, the drug that neutralizes venom from vipers, cobras, and carpet vipers, the three most dangerous snakes in the region. Besides, it runs community sensitization. Health workers travel to villages during farming season to teach first aid, admonishi locals not to cut the wound, suck the venom but to immobilize the limb, and get to hospital fast. Fatima Abbas from Tula in Balanga LGA is one of those who benefited from that advocacy. She was bitten in her compound at night. “We used to think we should tie and tie and wait. But the health workers told us: go to Kaltungo immediately. I reached there in 3 hours. The doctors saved me.” Fatima’s case also highlights the biggest challenge, which is distance. “The hospital is good, but it is only one. If you are bitten in Tula, Doma, or Potiskum, you must travel kilometers. Some people die on the way,” she said. “Government should extend this facility to other LGAs so we don’t lose people because of transport.” That call is now louder than ever, and the federal upgrade may be the answer.

In a memo approved by the Federal Executive Council in Abuja, the Kaltungo Snakebite Hospital was designated as the National Snakebite Centre. The implication is significant. First is funding. As a national centre, it will now draw from federal health budgets, intervention funds, and partner agencies like NCDC, WHO, and donor organizations. That means a more consistent supply of antivenom, which is expensive and often in short supply. Second is capacity. The upgrade mandates expansion of bed spaces, laboratories, and staff training. Plans include a research unit to study local snake species and develop data for antivenom production in Nigeria, reducing reliance on imports. Third is outreach. The centre is expected to coordinate snakebite response across the North and set up satellite clinics in high-burden LGAs. Dr. Habu Dahiru, former Gombe State Commissioner for Health, described the FEC decision as historic. “We will not hesitate to thank President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for this gesture to Gombe State,” Dr. Dahiru said. “This upgrade will go a long way in accessing good healthcare for the people. It is not just for Gombe. It is for all Nigerians, and for our neighbours.” Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya’s administration has also pledged support. State officials say renovations are already underway to give the hospital a new look — better wards, solar power, water supply, and staff quarters to attract specialists.

To understand why this matters, you have to sit in the hospital’s waiting area in July. Farmers arrive on motorcycles, some with limbs swollen, some carried on doors. Mothers hold children bitten while playing outside. The World Health Organization estimates 20,000 snakebite deaths in Nigeria annually, with over 400,000 bites. The North accounts for more than half. Poverty, poor housing, and farming in snake habitats drive the numbers. Abubakar’s story could have ended differently. “If that hospital was not there, I would not be here,” he said. “But government should do more. Bring more drugs. Sometimes they say antivenom is finished. If you are bitten and there is no drug, what do you do?” That drug stock-out problem is what the national status is expected to fix. With federal procurement and partnerships with manufacturers in India and Europe, the centre aims to maintain a 6-month buffer stock.

Kaltungo’s impact has also gone beyond Nigeria. Health teams from Cameroon and Niger Republic have visited to study its protocols. In 2023, a WHO delegation toured the facility and recommended it as a training hub for West Africa. That international attention is part of why the federal government moved. Snakebite was added to WHO’s list of Neglected Tropical Diseases in 2017. Nigeria, with the highest burden in Africa, needed a flagship centre. “The synergy between Nigeria, Cameroon and Niger on snakebite treatment started here,” said a nurse who has worked at Kaltungo for 8 years. “Patients cross the border because they know we have the drugs. Now with national status, we can do even more.”

The upgrade, however, is not a magic wand. Three challenges remain. The first is access. One national centre cannot serve 200 million people. The plan to establish satellite units in places like Jalingo, Maiduguri, and Lafia must be fast-tracked. The second is community awareness. Many still go to traditional healers first, losing critical hours. Religious and traditional leaders in the North must be brought into the campaign. The third is research and local production. Nigeria still imports 100% of its antivenom. The new centre has been tasked to work with NIPRD and universities to start local production within 5 years. That will cut costs and delays.

For Kaltungo town, the upgrade means jobs, visibility, and pride. Hotels are already seeing more visitors — relatives of patients. Pharmacies are stocking first-aid supplies. Young doctors are applying to work there. “Before, people only knew Kaltungo for its hills,” a local trader said. “Now they know us for saving lives.” Back in Bojude, Abubakar still farms, but more carefully now. He wears boots and carries a torch at night. He also tells his neighbors: “If snake bites you, don’t waste time. Go to Kaltungo.” With the federal government now behind it, that advice may soon come with a shorter journey. Satellite clinics, more ambulances, and a national database for snakebite cases are all on the table.

The story of the Kaltungo Snakebite Hospital is the story of what happens when government listens to a local problem and treats it like a national one. From a state initiative under Dankwambo to a federal priority under Tinubu, the hospital has grown from treating Gombe farmers to serving the entire North and beyond. The FEC upgrade is not just about a new signboard. It is about buying time for the next Abubakar, the next Fatima — time that means the difference between life and death. As the rains come and snakes come out of hiding, one thing is clear: in the fight against snakebite in Nigeria, Kaltungo is no longer just a hospital. It is now the nation’s frontline.