A file photo of cholera patients in Nigeria
Source: Africa Publicity
At least 30 people have been confirmed dead from cholera in Nigeria since the beginning of 2024.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) confirmed the deaths, blaming the outbreak on poor sanitation and lack of resources.
According to the Centre, from January 1 to June 11, 2024, a total of 1,141 suspected and 65 confirmed cases of cholera with 30 deaths have been reported from 96 local government areas within 30 states in Nigeria.
The latest outbreak in June has reportedly killed 15 people in Lagos alone.
The Centre said the 10 states that contributed 90 percent to the cholera burden were: Bayelsa, Zamfara, Abia, Cross River, Bauchi, Delta, Katsina, Imo, Nasarawa, and Lagos states.
Speaking to Channels TV on Saturday, June 15, 2024, the Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Jide Idris, blamed the outbreak on poor sanitation and lack of resources, saying: “To me, it’s a disease that’s bordering on basic sanitation. My observation is that prevention is very weak, which also bolsters your point that we seem to have forgotten the need for prevention or we’re not taking it very seriously. And in a situation where resources are limited, I think that’s the best approach.”
He said “If you go back to this cholera case, it’s a problem of poor sanitation, good personal and environmental, it’s a problem of lack of access to water. the easiest way for good personal hygiene is hand-washing, especially after using the toilet, and before you cook your food.”
He added that: “But in a situation where you tell people to do hand-washing and there’s no access to water, it’s a problem. So, I think everybody, including the Federal Government, the state government, different agencies, local governments, even the people themselves, the community, have to come around.”
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