South Africa cholera outbreak re-ignites anger over poor services
IBTimes NG

The Nigeria Center for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) said on Wednesday that it might declare a cholera outbreak emergency in the country.

Speaking in Lagos under the theme of "Collaborative Platforms and Networks, Strengthening Travel Medicine in Nigeria," Director General of NCDC Dr. Jide Idris noted that the center was monitoring the situation and will declare an emergency if the outbreak became unmanageable.

The announcement was made during the Adetokunbo Alakija Memorial Travel Medicine Lecture held at the Civic Centre on Victoria Island, organized by the Nigerian Society of Travel Medicine.

"We have been tracking cholera cases and we are documenting them. For the last two or three weeks, the incidence shot up, with a rising number of deaths and that is why we started investigating and this is where Lagos State came in," he said, Punch reported.

The director general noted that based on the data obtained from all the partners involved in the assessment, if "the situation has gone beyond a particular threshold, then we call it an emergency situation."

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu's Special Adviser on Health, Kemi Ogunyemi, said it was happening due to the environment and water, adding that food also played a huge role in the spread of cholera.

"It's all about the environment, it's about water, it's about what you eat, it's about people defecating, and all that is flushed into the drainage system. It's not just the Ministry of Health, we cannot work in isolation, and we are trying our best," she said.

"We have programs – the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene known as WASH. We are trying to get clean water into all (areas), we are looking at pipes that are broken, and the things that are not working, etc."

The country is currently dealing with a cholera outbreak in 30 states. In response, the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the International Organization for Migration held an emergency meeting in Lagos on Tuesday.

Dr. Walter Mulombo, the WHO country representative, shared this information on his X handle (formerly known as Twitter).

According to the NCDC, from Jan. 1 to June 11, there were over 1,141 suspected cholera cases and more than 65 confirmed cases, resulting in over 30 deaths across 96 LGAs (Local Government Areas) in 30 states.

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Ministry of Health reported 350 suspected cholera cases in 29 wards across various LGAs, with 17 confirmed cases and 15 deaths caused by severe dehydration due to delayed treatment.