President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Tuesday ordered the establishment of a cabinet committee to oversee the cholera emergency response by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
Minister of Health and Coordinating Minister of Social Welfare Professor Ali Pate said this while briefing State House correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting chaired by the president.
He said the council discussed ongoing efforts to flatten the curve of cholera infections and slow down the death rate across the country through a multi-sectoral approach.
He said the committee would comprise members from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Youth and the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development.
He said the cabinet committee’s efforts would complement the support being provided by state governments to reduce open defecation, as cholera is a developmental issue requiring a multi-sectoral approach.
“The President directed that a cabinet committee be set up to oversee what the emergency operation center led by NCDC is doing and for the resources to be provided, complemented by the state government,” he said.
He said 31 states have recorded 1,528 cholera cases with 53 deaths so far in Nigeria, stressing that the country is currently experiencing the 7th global cholera pandemic, which has affected more than 200,000 cases in five regions worldwide this year.
“At the moment about 31 states have recorded 1528 cases and 53 deaths in Nigeria that is what we are working on through emergency operation centre that was activated by ncdc on Monday.
“Now we have cholera outbreak and we discussed extensively in the Council in addition to a new emergence of yellow fever specifically in Bayelsa State.
“On cholera we are in the middle of 7th pandemic globally which is…decades in the making in 2022 the world had almost 500,000 cases of cholera so it is not only peculiar to Nigeria. In 2023 almost 700,000 cases of cholera were reported by the World Health organisation This year more than 200,000 cases have occurred in five regions of the World,” he said.
The minister said there was the need for a multi-sectoral approach to contain the outbreak through awareness, handwashing, hygiene, sanitation and treatment.
