By Afolabi Samuel Odunayo
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) reports that 63 cholera deaths and 2,102 probable cases have been detected across 33 States and 122 Local Government Areas (LGAs) nationwide.
During a press conference held on Tuesday in Abuja in response to the cholera outbreak, Dr. Jide Idris, the director-general of the NCDC, revealed this data, identifying the top 10 states contributing to approximately 90% of the cases.
Among the listed states were Bayelsa, Abia, Zamfara, Bauchi, Katsina, Cross River, Ebonyi, Rivers, and Delta.
The Director-General (DG) named poor sanitation, lack of safe water, and inadequate lavatory facilities as obstacles to the nation’s cholera eradication efforts.
Explaining further, Idris said: “Only 123 (16%) of 774 LGAs in Nigeria are open defecation free. With Jigawa as the only open defecation free state in Nigeria. More than 48 million Nigerians practice open defecation
“Inadequate toilet facilities and existing ones even in many government facilities not well maintained. Inadequate Safe water and poor sanitation: 11 percent of schools, six percent of health facilities, 4 percent of motor parks and markets, have access to basic water, sanitation and hygiene services.”
Among the issues mentioned by the DG were inadequate waste management procedures, substandard food, inadequate personal and environmental hygiene standards, and a shortage of healthcare staff at the state and local government levels.
He noted further that the National Cholera Multisectoral Emergency Operation Centre (EOC), which was just formed, was offering tactical coordination in the fight against the disease.
According to him, this is being accomplished through pertinent response areas, which include risk communication, community involvement, infection prevention and control, coordination, surveillance, and case management.
According to him, the development and execution of a cost incidence action plan for the response was one of the other activities, along with water sanitation and hygiene, vaccine, logistics, and research.
These will aid in enabling quick decision-making, data analysis, and communication, according to Idris.
It would be recalled that Nigeria started experiencing cholera outbreak in January, which rapidly affected multiple regions by mid-year. As at June 24, report had confirmed 1,528 suspected cases and 53 deaths across 31 states and 107 local government areas, respectively.
