The Federal Government has called on all Nigerians to be more vigilant, imbibe good sanitation and hygiene practices at home and in their workplace and take preventive measures to combat the spread of cholera. The call was made in a statement issued on Sunday by the Minister of State for Environment, Dr. Iziaq Salako who lamented that the World Health Organisation (WHO), has confirmed the ongoing cholera outbreak in Nigeria as part of the global resurgence of cases of cholera, classifying it as currently a “grade 3 public health emergency”, requiring maximal WHO system wide response.
Nigeria has been identified as one of the 14 countries in Africa where the resurgence is being experienced. The Minister said “the Federal Ministry of Environment is deeply concerned about the ongoing cholera outbreak in some states of Nigeria which has tragically claimed many lives and affected many communities. Recent situation report from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) indicated a total number of 1159 suspected cases, 65 confirmed cases and 30 deaths across 30 States.
The States most affected, contributing 90% of the total cases includes, Bayelsa, Lagos, Zamfara, Abia, Bauchi, Cross River, Ebonyi, Delta and Katsina.” Salako said: “To prevent the spread of cholera, we urge all Nigerians to be more vigilant, imbibe good sanitation and hygiene practices at home and in their workplace and take preventive measures such as: keeping their environment clean always and disposin.
