More than 320 cholera patients have been successfully treated and discharged in Niger State, just two weeks after the disease resurfaced in parts of the state.
The State Commissioner for Primary Health Care, Dr Ibrahim Dangana, disclosed this during a live radio programme hosted by the Ministry of Information and Strategy. The programme was monitored by our correspondent.
Dr Dangana confirmed that fewer than ten patients remain on admission in various health facilities, adding that 14 people had so far lost their lives to the outbreak.
He noted that over 14,000 households had received water treatment kits as part of efforts to halt further transmission. According to him, “We recorded 14 deaths so far; and out of the 327 patients hospitalised, as we speak, we have less than ten of them still on admission across the state.”
In response to the outbreak, the state government activated several emergency mechanisms, including the State Inter-Sectoral Emergency Preparedness and Response Team, Emergency Operation Centres (EOCs), and Disease Surveillance Systems in all 274 wards and communities.
The commissioner said designated isolation centres were already in place, while Cholera Treatment Units (CTUs) had been established across all 25 local government areas. “These have really helped us in curbing the spread,” he stated.
Dr Dangana also credited the success of the intervention to collaborative support from government agencies and partners, including the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
He explained that the Ministry had ramped up public health education by engaging with more than 16,000 schoolchildren, as well as visiting markets, religious centres, and traditional institutions to raise awareness about the disease and its prevention.
In a related comment, Dr Idris Baba, Health Specialist at UNICEF Kaduna Field Office, affirmed that the supplies provided were sufficient to treat all current cases in the state.