The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has activated the Cholera Emergency Operation Centre to tackle any cholera disease that may break out in any part of the Territory.
Accordingly, this is also part of surveillance and preparedness measures to deal with any of such unforeseen but unfortunate incident that may erupt.
While activating the Cholera Emergency Operations Centre, the Permanent Secretary of the FCT Health Services and Environment Secretariat, Dr. Baba Gana Adam, emphasized that the activation was necessary in view of the number of reported cholera cases across the 36 States of the Federation.
Adam noted that as an emerging city, the FCT is at risk of cholera and is taking proactive steps to prevent and contain the spread of the disease in the event of an outbreak.
The Permanent Secretary said that the Secretariat would spare no resources or efforts to prevent a cholera outbreak in the FCT.
He directed that all relevant stakeholders be involved to develop effective, reliable strategies to prevent the outbreak of the disease.
On this strength, the FCT Public Health Department organized a Cholera Update meeting, bringing together key stakeholders to discuss the cholera situation in the FCT.
The meeting included mapping high-risk areas and defining the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder in addressing the situation.
At the meeting, the Acting Director of the FCT Public Health Department, Dr. Dan Gadzama, stated, “The FCT recently recorded about 32 suspected cases, with 3 laboratory-confirmed cases and 8 confirmed cases through Rapid Diagnostic Tests.”
This prompted the activation of the Cholera Emergency Operations Centre to prevent the escalation and spread of the disease.
Regarding the FCT’s preparedness for a potential outbreak, Gadzama highlighted several measures that had been put in place even before the first cases were recorded.
These include the identification of high-risk areas (which have been placed on red alert), public education and awareness campaigns, training for healthcare workers, and the establishment of a Cholera Incident Management team consisting of relevant stakeholders.
Gadzama explained that cholera is an infectious bacterial disease caused by Vibrio cholerae, which spreads through contaminated food, water, and faeces; stressing the importance of addressing environmental factors in controlling the disease and mentioned the active engagement of the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) in cholera control efforts.
Earlier, the FCT State Epidemiologist, Dr. Lawal Lukman Ademola, reiterated that “Cholera is primarily associated with a lack of potable drinking water, poor sanitation, and poor food hygiene.
