Cholera: UNICEF to support Niger with supplies

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has pledged to donate essential medical supplies to six affected Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Niger State to help contain the spread of cholera.

UNICEF Chief of the Kaduna Field Office, Dr Gerida Birukila, made the commitment on Thursday during an inspection of the isolation centre at Sen. Idris Kuta Primary Health Care Centre.

Birukila said UNICEF would scale up its support to meet growing treatment needs as the outbreak continues to spread.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Primary Health Care in Niger State, Dr Ibrahim Dangana, confirmed that 13 lives had been lost, with no fewer than 240 people hospitalised across the six LGAs.

He noted that children made up the majority of those affected, including in the 297 suspected cases so far recorded.

“As of today, most of those who have died are children. We currently have four new admissions at this centre, and 23 additional cases have been reported in the LGAs, some of which have tested positive,” Dangana said.

He added that UNICEF, in collaboration with the state government and development partners such as the World Health Organisation (WHO), was conducting sensitisation campaigns, managing suspected cases, and supporting isolation and treatment efforts.

UNICEF Health Specialist, Dr Sule Mele, said the cholera outbreak was first detected on July 10 in the Minna metropolitan area before spreading to Chanchaga, Bosso, and eventually four other LGAs.

“So far, we’ve recorded more than 200 suspected cases, with around 50 per cent testing positive on the rapid diagnostic test.

“Unfortunately, the number of cases is expected to rise,” Mele stated.

He announced that UNICEF was ready to establish Cholera Treatment Units (CTUs) in the affected LGAs to decentralise care and reduce pressure on existing centres.

“We cannot bring all suspected cases to one location, so we are positioning commodities and setting up CTUs in the LGAs,” he said.

Earlier, Director of Public Health in the State Ministry of Secondary and Tertiary Health, Dr Ibrahim Idris, said the government had already established treatment and isolation centres and would soon embark on aggressive sensitisation campaigns to curb the spread of the disease.