ABUJA, Nigeria (The Informant247) – The Nigerian water resources minister Suleiman Adamu on Friday called for a renewed commitment from all stakeholders to curtail continued reports of cholera outbreaks in parts of the country.
He said cholera prevention plan was critical as access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) would go a long way to halt future occurrence and prevent deaths.
The country’s Centre for Disease Control had reported that no fewer than 91 deaths have been recorded from cholera from January to July 31, 2022, with a total of 3,610 suspected cases.
“Developing this cholera plan became necessary, owing to the brutal blow cholera dealt on our nation a year ago where cases reported nationally were about 111,062 with 3,604 deaths,” the minister said at a stakeholders’ meeting on National Cholera Prevention, Preparedness and Response Plan in Abuja on Friday.
He noted that his ministry had evolved strategies by constructing water schemes like boreholes, dams and toilet facilities in curtailing the spread of waterborne diseases and open defecation practices.
According to him, developing a work plan will ensure equitable intervention spread, bringing the concept of inclusiveness, as all key stakeholders are identified with their roles succinctly spelt out.
“As a result, conscious and deliberate efforts like these aimed at preventing a reoccurrence of such an ugly and perhaps embarrassing scenario, where enormous cases of cholera outbreak was reported, is certainly a commendable development.’’
Adamu added that cholera prevention, preparedness and response plan crosscuts the purview of many ministries, departments and agencies, calling for more commitment.
The United Nation Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Activities (OCHA), more than 1,000 cases of cholera have been reported in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states since May 2022.
The UN body attributed cholera cases to the widespread contamination of water sources by flooding, as the rainy season entered its peak.