Cholera: Abuja records 69 fatalities as FCTA races to curtail spread

By Stanley Onyekwere

A total of 69 fatalities have been recorded from over 1000 confirmed cases of the prevailing Cholera disease in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), according to Acting Secretary, FCT Health and Human Services Secretariat (HHSS), Dr. Mohammad Kawu.
Kawu also revealed that the number of cholera cases in the Federal Capital Territory, has dropped, following concerted efforts by the FCT Administration, as stakeholders race to combat the spread of the disease.
He made the disclosure while briefing newsmen, after a meeting of the FCT Emergency Operations Center (EOC)of the Secretariat with the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammed Musa Bello, on Friday.
The HHSS’s Acting Secretary, who added that other victims of the disease have been treated and discharged from health facilities, described cholera as a disease closely associated with poor hygiene and appealed to residents to make extra efforts to ensure proper cleaning of their environment and cultivate good sanitary habits.
According to him, Bwari Area Council has been identified as the epicenter of the outbreak in the FCT followed by the Abuja Municipal Area Council and reiterated that measures have been put in place to prevent recurrence.
Explaining that residents displaying symptoms of the disease were being treated for free in FCTA health facilities, Kawu said adequate drugs and other medical consumables have been made available in those facilities.
Kawu however attributed the drop to the collaborative efforts of relevant offices in the HHSS as well as the FCT Water Board and the Abuja Environmental Protection Board.
“We have repositioned treatment, drugs, other consumables in all the health facilities in affected areas and all secondary healthcare facilities in the FCT so that anybody that has diarrhea is treated free.
“We have also provided water and sanitation in the affected areas by working with the FCT Water Board, FCT Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASA) and the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB)”, he explained.
He continues: “It is gratifying to note that all the affected communities have been visited and we have told them what they need to do to prevent this cholera outbreak.
“It appears, and it is clear that they have understood what we told them and they have taken those decisions and they are doing those things and that’s why the cases have come down”.
Similarly, while speaking on the spike of COVID -19 cases across the country, the HHSS boss said the FCT was prepared for a possible third wave saying that the FCT had not dismantled any of the structure put in place to fight the virus.
In his words: “Our treatment centres are intact and we have piped oxygen. We have also repaired our oxygen plant in Asokoro. Our health workers have been trained and they are on ground. So we are prepared.
“Most importantly, we continue to advocate and advise the populace to continue with the non-pharmaceutical preventive measures that are in place.
“ These measures include; wearing of face mask, social and physical distancing, washing of hands regularly with water and soap and or hand sanitizers and avoiding crowded areas”.